Looking back on Identify Your Breyer of all the previous Breyerfest events to date, it makes me think that in the early years, Breyer seemed sceptical about whether or not it would turn into anything. I bet they would never realize that 30 years later, not only would they still be doing it, but it would have turned into the much anticipated celebration that it is today! There are even Facebook groups that live only for Breyerfest. They talk about it year round, how they plan to attend next year's and bragging about their BF finds. This got me thinking about all the celebration models. As with most events in the beginning stages, the first years of BF were rather limited. They offered very few special runs, if any, so the only special horse was the celebration model, and the celebration models were pretty plain, or "vintage" by today's standards. As I could not find a list of all the celebration models of year's past except on IDYB when I clicked on each individual event, I decided to make one. Hope this is helpful to anyone who wishes to know. I also want to give credit to IDYB for the pictures. Finally in 1999 they began to offer numerous special runs, giving a reason for people to go. They also began advertising Breyerfest in their sales catalogs that came with the horses, which upped the advertising two fold, and thus BF really took off. The celebration models were still pretty vintage looking but the special runs were giving people a reason to go! In 2001, Breyer used a popular new mold for the first time as the celebration model. They also added a metallic sheen to his color for special effect. Not only were the special runs worth collecting, but so now was the celebration model! It was during the early 2000s when BF really began to take off! Shortly after, Breyer began making up a theme for BF. Attendance was skyrocketing every year. It was time to make it a big party, something for collectors to look forward to. Enter the first BF single day ticket stablemate during Nobel II's year. Now even those who couldn't afford the traditional sized horses had a reason to come. The year 2009 marked the beginning of the surprise special run. Each year following this year, Breyer offered a completely random surprise model in quite a few different color variations. This year's was the Quarter Horse gelding surprise. Later they made surprise models based on the BF theme. Alas, I honestly have not attended my first Breyerfest yet. All of the BF models I own were bought off the second hand market at prices I care not to admit. It makes no sense really, as I only live 5 hours away, which isn't far considering that some people have to fly in. However, given the fact that I'm picky on my models, usually only one or two models catches my fancy and as such I just purchase them online instead. I've heard from people who go to not get your heart set on a certain model because some sell out pretty quickly. Maybe one day when there are quite a few models I wish to get, I will go.
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