No More Zilch!

One morning at the end of May, I was struggling to find something to write about and ended up sharing a blog entry simply titled Zilch. 

I think I scared some of you that day. I got several private inquiries asking if I was okay or saying that they hoped I felt better soon. (That was so kind. Thank you.) 

Honestly, it was simply writer's block. I was fine; I just didn't have anything to say that day.

Anyway!

What I never shared after the Zilch blog post was that I'd suddenly had a great idea for writing. I'd been thinking about my BreyerFest Special Run preferences and was looking back through my files at pictures of past BreyerFests when I thought,

"This was so long ago and BreyerFest was so much smaller than it is now. How many people can say they attended those earliest BreyerFests? When Breyer used to feed us in a gigantic BBQ at the Kentucky Horse Park on Saturday night? Or remember that the Celebration Horse was originally called the 'dinner model'?" 

And, "How many hobbyists showed at the Breyer Open Show when it was actually held in the Covered Arena?" And more.

I do. And while I've mentioned some of my early BreyerFest experiences before, I've never actually collected them into a series.

It's time for me to do that. Especially since this blog functions as my journal and I wasn't blogging (or journaling) in the early days of BreyerFest so nothing is written down about it.

My working plan originally was to post my BreyerFest memories during BreyerFest week but as I have been researching, tracking down photos, etc., I've discovered that this is actually a BIG project. As I look at the outline of the blog posts for it, I've realized that I may need to begin posting them before BreyerFest in order to get them all shared.

When will the series begin? I don't know. This is a project where I am actually pulling boxes out of storage and digging through them. Then I need to sort and collate the ephemera I've found into which year of BreyerFest they came from. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if I will even be ready to start posting before BreyerFest begins!

It's taking a lot of time but I'm having fun and I certainly don't think you will be seeing any more Zilch posts in the near future.

Stay 'tooned!

BreyerFest Changes

BreyerFest started small in 1990 with only 1,000 Dinner models and roughly the same amount of attendees. Dinner was served in tents on the ground at Kentucky Horse Park, and most of what you did was shop from the vendors on the concourse, visit the horses that were on-site at the park, and maybe go through the museum and gift shop. 

How things have changed! Breyer takes over the park and is visible absolutely everywhere.

There are still vendors on the concourse of the covered arena but now people must squeeze around each other as they shop. (In 2019, there were folks on stilts walking on the concourse; I could only hope they didn't get bumped in the crowd and smash into  display or the crowd!)

Seats for the live horse demonstrations in the covered arena used to be easy to find. This shot shows how packed it is now.

Shopping in the covered arena is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure!

The shopping for Breyer's offerings has changed, too. No more standing in long lines at certain times to get your Dinner/Celebration model, but for the special runs, it is madness.

You receive a number with your ticket and then go stand by the sign closest to your number at an assigned time. Breyer draws a number, and that number becomes number 1, and you shop in that order. 

One thing that hasn't changed over time is this:

Running into your hobby friends. (Me with Yvonne Rott at the Clarion in 2019.) More on that wonderful aspect of BreyerFest tomorrow.

Two more days, folks!! Tick! Tick! Tick!