BUTLER TWP — Experienced collectors, wide-eyed children and everyone in between enjoyed perusing the new and vintage toys available for purchase on Saturday at the Butler Area Toy Show.

Ken Frederick, who organized the second annual toy show at the General Butler Vagabond Center with his partners, Rob Craig and Greg Ochaba, said the July 2022 show attracted about 500 collectors and toy enthusiasts.

“We’re on pace to do about the same today,” Frederick said on Saturday.

Toy lovers lined up in the Vagabonds hallway and lobby before the show started, to have the best chance of grabbing that one-of-a-kind vintage toy missing from their collections, Frederick said.

Craig said the most popular collectibles are Masters of the Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Wars pieces from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

New toys, like the popular Funko Pop! Vinyls figures, also were abundantly available at the event.

“We tell people, ‘Come see us if you didn’t get what you wanted under the Christmas tree — even if it was in 1978,’” Craig said.

A cosplay artist named Knightmage and a pair of storm troopers from the Star Wars franchise roamed the show along with other adults in costume.

Ochaba explained that the storm troopers are members of the 501st Legion. One trooper represented Ghost Base Rebel Legion, or the good guys, while the other represented the Starkiller Garrison, or the bad guys.

The 501st raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ochaba said.

He said the menacing Knightmage raised funds for the Butler County Humane Society, proving he’s just a softy at heart.

Among the vendors at the show were people selling Power Ranger helmets, vintage video game cartridges, WWE pieces, 1980s Transformers, and even the vintage cereals Count Chocula and Frankenberry in their original boxes.

Ann Schnur of Summit Township carefully rooted through a box of old Barbie dolls.

She was excited to find a Rapunzel doll for $3.

“She is very hard to find with her hair uncut,” Schnur said. “I have her clothing. I was waiting to find the doll.”

She explained that vintage toys are 50 to 99 years old, antique toys are 100-plus, and retro toys are new, but made to look old.

“A lot of people think they’ve got an original (Barbie) and it’s not,” Schnur said of retro toys.

She said holes in the feet, the word “Japan” stamped on the butt, and other markings can determine the age of a Barbie doll.

Schnur owns about 100 Barbie dolls today.

“I just downsized, because I couldn’t fit them in my room,” she said.

She was impressed by the Butler Area Toy Show on Saturday.

“We are really having a good time,” Schnur said. “Usually toy shows like this are in Pittsburgh or another big city.”

She said being a toy collector can come with a stigma, as many think adults should put toys aside in favor of more grown-up pursuits.

“But it’s a community in itself,” Schnur said. “You meet interesting people when it comes to toys, because everyone likes something different.”

Ron Adams of Ligonier, Westmoreland County, visited the show for the first time on Saturday.

Adams collects classic monster items, and admits to owning 500 to 600 Frankenstein pieces alone.

“My whole house is classic monster stuff,” he said.

His friend Ted Lewczyk of Natrona Heights also collects classic monster items plus pop culture pieces from the 1970s.

“You grew up with it,” Lewczyk said of the attraction of vintage and classic memorabilia. “It has memories of your childhood. It’s comfort food for your mind.”

He always delights in seeing toys he played with as a child.

“Had we known 30 or 40 years ago that what we played with would be worth what it is today, we’d all be trying to sell it,” Lewczyk said.

Derek Warburton of Oakland Township brought his wife and young son to the show.

Warburton dabbles in sports memorabilia, some toys, bar memorabilia and collectible shoes.

He was considering vintage WWE wrestling pieces on Saturday, but nothing will compare to his prize possession: the Michael Jordan anniversary jersey the hoops great wore in the finals.

“It’s pretty cool. I like it,” Warburton said of the toy show. “There’s a lot to take in and a good variety of stuff.”

Frederick said he and his partners enjoy working with the Vagabonds staff and always get the same comment from vendors and customers alike.

“We get rave reviews about the food,” he said. “Usually, all you can get is a hot dog and a bag of chips (at a toy show.) They have really good food here.”

The trio agrees the Butler Area Toy Show is a popular and successful event.

“We’ll be back,” Frederick said.