WHAT IS A TOY SHOW? A toy show is an event where dealers rent space to display and sell their antique and collectible toys. The dealers may be people operating as a business, they may be individual collectors wanting to sell all or part of their collection, they may be doing it as a hobby, or they may have inherited toys that they are trying to sell. Some dealers may only sell, others will buy, sell, or trade. A few may only want to display the choice pieces of their collection for the enjoyment of others.

Persons attending the show are welcome to bring in an item or two to find a dealer willing to buy or trade items. They may want to talk to dealers to get an idea of an items value, although dealers should not be considered appraisers.

The TIMBER DAN TOY SHOW is sponsored by the LOVELAND LIONS CLUB as a fun raising project. The Club rents the building space, arranges for the setup, advertises the show, rents space to the dealers and charges admission to the public. Typically, the Show will have 180 tables with approximately 80 dealers from several states with thousands of toys and related items on display and for sale.

THE TIMBER DAN TOY SHOW is held twice each year - Spring (early April) and Fall (early October) at the Larimer County Fairgrounds “The Ranch”, Loveland, Colorado. All Lions Club profits from the Toy Show are used for charitable purposes such as eye exams and glasses for the needy, scholarships, and support to other community non-profit organizations. Dealers, of course, keep the profits from their sales.

HISTORY OF THE SHOW

The first Timber Dan Antique Toy Show held in Loveland was in February 1989. Lion Dale VanderLinden of Delano, Minnesota, who was living in Colorado at the time, had approached the Loveland Lions Club earlier to see if they would be interested in sponsoring an antique toy show as a fundraising project. He called his shows “Timber Dan Toy Shows” and he came to be known as “Timber Dan” at the shows. He and the Loveland Lions Club agreed to split some of the work and expenses and share in the receipts. The first show was small but successful. Subsequently two shows were held each year – February and October. They grew, became very popular with collectors and dealers alike, and have continued to the present time. In 2011 Lion VanderLinden a.k.a. “Timber Dan” decided to get out of the toy show business in Colorado and offered to allow the Loveland Lions Club to take over the shows in Colorado and continue to use the name “Timber Dan” for the shows. The Loveland Lions Club has accepted his gracious offer and plans to continue sponsoring the shows under the same general policies and procedures as in the past. Our objective is to provide a venue for serious toy collectors to come together with dealers who have quality items and at the same time raise funds for the Club’s charitable projects.

Timber Dan passed away in Delano, MN on July 24, 2017 but his legacy continues.

In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the Oct.'20 and Feb.'21 Shows, but we were able to secure an April '21 date for the Timber Dan Spring Toy Show. At that show and the Fall '21 we were able to obtain reduced hall rental rates due to the need for "social dsitancing" due to COVID-19 and used both the North and South Halls of the First National Bank Exhibitiom Building. Both shows were sucessful and we decided to keep the early April date for the Spring show in the South Hall,the North Hall not being available on that weekend.