Toy Fair Twisted

Just got back from Toy Fair. It was frantic as always, but at least this year I had the luxury of actually walking it instead of being chained to a booth. Being an exhibitor does have its perks though. I went to Javits early the first day to drop off some books to Mary Couzin at Discover Games, only to find out that I could not get in at 8:00am without an exhibitor badge. So there I stood with and hour to kill. Well at least a large scary clown came up to me blowing a whistle. Did I mention it was 8:00am? Did I mention he had a very loud band with him? Did I mention I don’t find clowns funny… at all? Remember that old game show where contestants tried to keep a straight face for cash while comedians tried to make them laugh? Put me up there with any clown in the world and I would be money.

ENOUGH! On with the show. Being locked out of the show for a bit allowed me to see what I could see outside of the exhibition hall and I found the National Toy Hall of Fame exhibit. Many cool toys where on display, including some professional Etch-A-Sketch art. Mind you that once inside with the exhibits, it was difficult to take pictures at the booths, as this practice is frowned upon. Is there anything more annoying than people taking pictures constantly? One of the big buzz products was the relaunched (rebirthed?) Cabbage Patch Kids and I did snap a few pics at the Lionel booth.

Speaking of trains, a few of us ventured to Ellen’s Stardust Diner on Broadway for breakfast one morning. It’s decked out in nostalgia and had an electric toy train which circled high above the singing waiters and waitresses.

Celebrities? Toy Fair had ‘em. My favorite was Jerry Maren, one of the original Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz. I got an autographed picture of him ($20) for my Oz-addicted sister. Now I ask you, where else but Toy Fair could you run into a founding member of The Lollipop Guild? Read more about him here.

I will post more about what new products I saw in a few days. I just had to get the clowns and munchkins off my mind (and out of my camera).