Virtual Breyerfest - Real Experience

Well, that was an interesting weekend.

As I predicted, I was mentally exhausted by the end of virtual Breyerfest.  Physically, too.  I literally spent most of Monday sleeping it off.  What I didn't predict is how terrific, and traumatic, the entire experience would be.

I probably should have predicted some of the computer glitches that plagued Breyerfest 2020, especially on opening day.  But the folks at Breyer had sounded so confident about their ability to handle the increased website traffic that I was lulled into a false sense of security.  Friday morning brought me to my real senses.

The only bright spot was that it quickly became apparent that I was not the only one having trouble accessing various areas around the site.  That was a relief! 

However, in order to gain that knowledge I had to wade through a mire of nasty comments about the situation on the Breyer Model Horses Facebook page.  It was depressing, and I was deeply ashamed to find so many negative, unsympathetic, selfish attitudes circulating among my fellow hobbyists.  It was so bad that I hesitate to call them "my fellow" -- I would much rather distance myself from them than be counted among their number.  But although I do not share their attitudes, we do, in fact, share a hobby.  It's a reality I have to face. 

I can only hope that the sort of comments I read on that site reflect only a small, but very vocal, portion of the hobby.  And to help balance things out there were indeed a number of positive, sympathetic, and appreciative comments posted as well.

Anyway, being constantly shut out of making purchases at the Breyerfest store, I found myself with plenty of time to explore the rest of Breyerfest.  I think I was able to do all the other things I wanted to do, and most of them met or exceeded my expectations.

Here are some of the things I did, listed in order from those I liked the best to those that didn't quite satisfy:

• watched all 3 Equus Film and Art Festival movies
• went on all the Virtual Farm Tours
• watched all the Meet the Horses videos
• checked out the voting and reveals in the Collector Club Tent 
• entered the two raffles I was eligible to enter
• watched all the Hobby Talks or Seminars
• watched a few of the Hands-On Hobby demos
• looked at most of the Covered Arena videos
• watched many of the Celtic Breeds videos
• took in most of the Evening Show performances
• checked out the Auction Horses (and quickly figured out that I wouldn't be bidding on any)
• viewed the photos of the Contest winners
• looked over the Champion Results from the Open Photo Show
• visited some sites in the Artisans' Gallery and the Vendor Fair

Of course, the problems with checking out of the Breyer Store did drive me towards making some crazy decisions.  I originally had no intention of buying any of the three Store Special Horses.  As Virtual Breyerfest got closer and closer, though, I started becoming more and more oddly attracted to the Gypsy Vanner "Cheesecake."  It got to the point where I started entertaining thoughts of adding him to my cart if I managed to get the one thing I really wanted -- the Breyerfest Stablemate set. 

Glossy "Topgun*

Therefore when, on the second day, I still hadn't managed to snag the Stablemates and Breyer decided to offer pre-orders of all the Store Special horses in gloss, I was sorely tempted.  However, I suddenly became even more tempted by the glossy "Topgun" -- his colour looked much nicer under gloss than it had in regular matte.  It took everything I had to remind myself that I didn't really like or need any of those molds.  That's how quickly Breyerfest can make you temporarily lose your mind.

"Éire*

I managed to resist, but I did succumb to a crazy impulse I had to buy the Stablemate "Éire," the green Irish Drafter with the celtic knot shamrocks on his flanks.  I wasn't originally intending to add him to my collection, but when, during one of the restockings, the Stablemate set was not available but "Éire" was, I bit the bullet and bought him.  

It was my first successful purchase of the 'Fest, and by the time I picked him up I was desperate to buy something as a souvenir.  Of course, I will be getting the four-pack of Single Day Stablemates as well sometime soon -- I've seen a few of them in collectors' hands already and I'm totally charmed by the cute little tartan bags they come in.

And I finally got lucky on Sunday morning and was able to snag the coveted Stablemate set.  With that, my shopping was complete and I could go on to enjoy the rest of the 'Fest.

Best of BreyerFest Stablemates -- mine at last!*

I'm going to remember this 'Fest as both a frustrating and fun experience.  The shopping experience was extremely frustrating, and reading the feedback on the Breyer Facebook site was both embarrassing and depressing.  But with all the virtual videos I certainly was able to see much more of the action than I'd typically be able to see at Breyerfest live, and many of the videos were very, very good.

I was initially hoping that the virtual event would prove to be such a successful event for Breyer that they would consider adding a virtual component to future 'Fests.  However, given how exhausted they must be feeling after all the technical glitches, the number of times they had to change plans in mid-stream, and all the negative feedback they got from "fans," I kind of think now that they'll be approaching that idea with caution.

Which is not to say it won't happen.  During the wrap-up video Reeves International president CEO Tony Fleischmann mentioned that he'd like to add a virtual component to future Breyerfests to accommodate all the fans who, for one reason or another, cannot attend the 'Fest in person.

That seems incredibly generous to me.  Surely organizing Breyerfest live takes more than enough effort.  I certainly wouldn't have blamed the folks at Breyer/Reeves if it had turned out that the traditional experience, that they work so hard to put together every year, was the only one they wanted to offer henceforward.  The possibility that some sort of virtual component may become a thing of the future has me looking forward to Breyerfests yet to come.

*All images courtesy of BreyerModelHorses.com