The Yorkton Farm Toy Show and Sale has been running in Yorkton for 28 years, bringing the joy of toys to people young and old.
Organizer Kim Mehling says that this year's event, held over the weekend in the city, was successful, with a steady stream of attendees visiting the 42 different vendors.
The event raised money for the Chase Kraynick Splash Park in Canora with the raffle of a pedal tractor as well as support from many of the different vendors. Mehling says that the Kraynick family has always supported the show, and the cause made sense, both farm toys and the new splash park are designed to bring joy into the lives of kids.
Attendees came from across the prairies, Mehling says, and she believes it's the connections people have to toys which bring everyone out to the show.
"It's the history. If your dad had that tractor or your grandfather farmed with this. People hold on to that so they like to find those toys that represent that."
One of the people displaying at the show was Jordan Allison of Calgary, who brought a 1/64 scale highway scene, complete with a farm, trucking company and even a major accident on the highway.
Allison says that making a scene out of these toys is a way to stretch his imagination. He says that the projects are inspired by the things he sees on the road, and "seeing what's out there."
Each eight foot section of a scene takes about two months to complete, Allison says. The base is made of foam, and he works up from there, doing the landscaping and creating the environment and finally placing the different objects in the scene.
His displays are filled with little Easter eggs, small details which might not be immediately apparent. Allison says that's because when he was a kid looking at displays, the small details were what he enjoyed looking for the most, so he tries to give the same experience to the kids looking at the displays he creates.
Toy collecting has always been part of Allison's life, and he has made the creative side of the hobby a big part of his life.
"My family has been in toy collecting since I was a baby, I've been building displays for at least 10 years," he says.
The display was not the only reason why Allison made the trip to Yorkton, he admits, since he also spent the weekend looking at the other toys on display and bought a "fair bit" to add to projects in the future.
