Orange excavators, burgundy trucks and bright green cars. They can all be seen today in ‘t Brughuus in Valthermond. Small detail: it concerns model versions.
The vehicles attract hundreds of enthusiasts to the village. “This is really a fair for the hobbyist,” says exhibitor Otto Hulshof. And those enthusiasts come from all over the Netherlands. “Friesland, Limburg, Brabant, they come from everywhere.”
The fact that there is enthusiasm for such a fair in the North was a good assessment by organizer Martin Klein. He started the Valthermond Model Car Fair ten years ago. What is it, that passion for small cars? “Well,” Klein searches for words. “You start with toy cars from an early age. It’s a personal thing, some people like fishing and others like model cars.”
The fact that he has lasted so long is also surprising to him. “It was actually intended as a one-off edition and now we are ten years later. We now have sixty participants, compared to forty in the beginning. It has also become much busier. I think there are between 800 and 1,000 visitors today. “
They also notice that it is getting busier at the stall. “Nowadays you can no longer stand alone behind the table as a hobbyist. You have to stand with two people to answer the questions,” says exhibitor Hulshof. The next edition of the biennial fair is on October 19.