Green Bay, Wis. (WFRV) – The N.E.W. Hobby show is in its 35th year, and came to Green Bay’s Riverside Ballroom Sunday.
Event facilitator Aaron Bacovsky said it’s gratifying to see people come together over common interests. “I feel like I’m fulfilling my destiny, I really do, because these people need a focal point,” Bacovsky said.
But, the N.E.W. Hobby Show wasn’t always a hobby show.
“This was something that started back in the 80s, my father started it as a tractor show. It was mainly agricultural toys and to make it continue to go, it had to coexist with the more modern toys,” he said.
Modern toys for sale and on display; Like model trains, action figures, Legos.
The show is also about sharing a passion.
“There are so many different things for so many different age ranges, from the childhood heart, there’s nothing here that they’re not going to kind of want to take home with them,” said Dan Wiechman, a Lego vendor, and enthusiast.
Brian Gillaume, a local train collector and president of the N.E.W. “O” Gaugers Railroad Club, brings his trains to shows in the area in hopes that other people catch on to the hobby.
“[People see them and] they remember their childhood, you see their eyes light up really like, ‘Oh yeah, I had those,’ or they had some of the different accessories,” Gillaume said. “So, it’s really fun to bring back the memories.”
And now, it’s a family affair; Brian’s son Matthew enjoys the same hobby as his father.
“Mostly because of how much fun he was having playing with them so, I started collecting them. Now I come to every train show, I enjoy it, I really love it,” Matthew said.
For Bacovsky, uniting people over their passions is what fuels his.
“You know, as a hobbyist, you’re usually all by yourself in your industry and so, to get everybody together, they need that face that they buy from and a little encouragement to keep doing what they’re doing,” he said.
The N.E.W. Hobby Show wraps up at three o’clock on Sunday. It comes to Green Bay every year, the first weekend in March.