PASCO, Wash. – The Inland Northwest Toy Show Classic delighted visitors at the HAPO Center, offering a nostalgic trip down memory lane with toys that span decades.
Vendors displayed a wide array of items, from toys of the 1940s and 1950s to modern-day favorites like Star Wars and Hello Kitty. One of our photographers explored the event to capture the essence of this nostalgic gathering.
Erik Behrens, a Hot Wheels collector and vendor, shared his personal journey back into toy collecting.
“I’ve been collecting since I was a kid. My dad, he collected, but he passed away when I was nine, and so I kind of got out of collecting. And then in 2011-ish, I kind of got back into it and started collecting Hot Wheels,” Behrens said.
Charles Hall, owner of Charlie’s Retros Reality, highlighted the variety of nostalgic items they brought to the show.
“We brought a variety of toys and nostalgia, from diecast cars to Funko Pops, to Pokemon, to old vintage video games and action figures,” Hall said.
Scoot Barrick, a toy show employee, explained the universal appeal of toys at the event.
“Why toys? Well, who isn’t a kid, right?” Barrick said. “New kids get exposed to stuff that your parents used to grow up with…now they’re older adults, you can relive your childhood and all the toys you couldn’t have as a kid. Or re-buy the ones you had as a kid and broke or threw away or gave away to your neighbor kids. So, yeah, who doesn’t love toys?”
The event offered a chance for attendees to reconnect with their childhood memories and discover collectibles from different eras.
