A toy train show is coming to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in November.
The “Cloverdale Community Train and Hobby Exposition” is set for Nov. 12 and will be held in Shannon Hall.
“This will be Cloverdale’s first ever hobby train show,” said organizer Brian Peters. “We’ll have 37 vendors on hand and lot of things that will interest people.”
There will be all scales of model trains for sale along with books, magazines, scenery, photographs, DVDs, videos, and a wide variety of other hobby items, including model airplanes, ships, and many others.
Peters put the show together with families in mind. He said many train shows are geared towards very serious, high-end train hobbyists. However, he wanted to make his show accessible to those just embarking on their train hobbyist journey, those into other types of hobbies, such as other types of models, etc., along with the very serious train hobbyist.
“I want families to feel like they’re welcome and that they can afford it.”
Peters will also have something at the show that is very familiar to big and little kids alike.
“One group is bringing down their Lego train set,” Peters revealed. “It’s an operating train set made entirely out of Lego. It’ll be running all day.”
Peters has also been in contact with the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society. He’s hoping they can bring down their B.C. Electric Interurban simulator, but he said it will depend on whether or not they can find a way to transport the device over to the Fairgrounds.
He’s trying to arrange the show so there’s a lot of space for people to move around, but Peters also wants a lot of stuff packed into Shannon Hall. His idea being that there is something to interest and excite every show-goer.
“I don’t want people to feel crowded, because this venue is smaller than ones that have been used for other shows,” he explained. “But I want to have a lot there for people to see.”
There will also be 10 tables at the show for volunteer organizations, such as the CN Police and others.
“(The CN Police) will be doing a safety (promotion),” he said. “They’ll be handing out brochures and raising awareness about railway safety.”
Peters said there’s only been one train show in the Fraser Valley over the last several years.
“Typically there are four or five per year,” he explained. “Mine will be the first one in the Valley in three years.”
Peters is also bringing in railway historian and author Barrie Sanford. Sanford will be selling and signing his books. He’ll have copies of his six best-selling books at the show.
This will be the first show Peters has ever put on. He wanted to do the show in Cloverdale to showcase how great Cloverdale is as a geographic location.
“I’ve been trying to convince hobbyists of the Lower Mainland that Cloverdale is the geographic centre of the Lower Mainland,” he said. “That makes Cloverdale the best place to hold events like this.”
The toy train show will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Shannon Hall on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. Shannon Hall is located at 6050 176 Street.
Entry fees for the event are: ages 3-12, $3; ages, 13-59, $6; ages 60-plus, $5, family rate, $13.
For more info, email fp9aba@gmail.com.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter