East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 20) 20 IN EAST AURORA East Aurora lives up to and loves its nickname of Toy Town USA. In addition to resident toy giant Fisher-Price being located in the heart of town, East Aurora has been home to 10 toy companies throughout the past century as well as the Toy Town Museum, offering visitors a peek into the rich history of toy making in the community. The Toy Town Museum was the brainchild of a group of local citizens. To raise funds for the endeavor and create awareness and support for the concept, the first ToyFest was planned 20 years ago. The first commemorative toy (a now annual tradition) was also sold at the inaugural event. The sale of the toy, which is often a reproduction of an early Fisher-Price model, is now a major annual fundraiser and was instrumental in raising funds to open the Museum in 1987. ToyFest has sustained throughout the past two decades and continues to grow every year, drawing over 100,000 attendees from throughout the United States and Canada, and is one of Western New York’s premier festivals of the summer. The event is a true family fun destination with activities that will entertain both children and adults. The massive undertaking of planning the event is done by a small volunteer committee and is then staffed with over 300 volunteers throughout the festival. “The committee works year round — from the minute ToyFest ends in August, we start to plan for next year,” said Lynn Kinsella, marketing representative for the Toy Town Museum. The festival will be held on Aug. 25 & 26 this year and attendees will see some big changes from past years. Most notably, ToyFest will be moving to a new location in 2007; after 20 years being held in Hamlin Park in East Aurora, the steering committee plans to move the event to the Main Street business district in 2007. Kinsella is optimistic about the change in venue. “The Toy Town Museum and the ToyFest Steering Committee are excited about partnering with the Main Street businesses and bringing ToyFest closer to the museum. The consolidation of the event will increase visibility for our sponsors and our participants,” she said. “Also, we’re excited for an increased Continued on page 22 Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 1) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 2) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 3) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 4) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 5) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 6) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 7) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 8) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 9) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 10) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 11) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 12) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 13) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 14) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 15) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 16) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 17) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 18) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 19) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 20) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 21) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 22) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 23) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 24) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 25) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 26) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 27) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 28) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 29) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 30) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 31) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 32) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 33) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 34) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 35) East Aurora and Beyond - 2007 Visitors Guide - (Page 36) http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.