For the seventh year, the Taipei Toy Festival is bringing the fresh vinyl fragrance of designer toys and figures to the city. The event, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday at Huashan Culture Park (華山創意園區), is the largest gathering of its kind in Asia.
This year’s lineup includes more than 100 vendors from Japan, Hong Kong, the US, Taiwan, Canada and France. American artist and toy designer Amanda Visell will make an appearance, while Stayreal, Paradise Toy Land, Medicom Toy, C.i.Boys and Crazy Label will be represented with booths. The first 500 visitors each day will receive a free Baby Treeson (today), Choco Barro (tomorrow) or Honeybaby x Touma figure (Sunday). Fans can also take part in competitions for a Taipei to Hong Kong roundtrip airline ticket and passes to Hong Kong Disneyland (designer toys first gained popularity in Hong Kong during the mid-1990s).
The 2010 Taipei Toy Festival also marks the event’s first Graphic Novel and Comic Book Fair, featuring work by artists from five countries. For collectors whose toy chests are already crammed full, this year’s event emphasizes clothing, with designer T-shirts, accessories and collectible sneakers on sale.
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