Toy Town Museum History
The Toy Town Museum was founded by a group of local citizens who felt that it was important to recognize the history that toy making had played in their community and how toys play an important role in all our lives. In order to raise the funds for a museum a festival was started and named ToyFest. The main purpose of the festival was to create awareness for the Toy Town Museum and provide a venue to sell the ToyFest commemorative toy-a reproduction of an early Fisher-Price toy and major annual fundraiser for the Toy Town Museum. The funds from the sale of the toy would be used to open the museum.
In 1987, the Toy Town Museum opened its doors and today both the Museum and ToyFest provide visitors from near and far the opportunity to celebrate the “joys of toys” in our lives.
ToyFest still remains the annual fundraiser for the Toy Town Museum. Held each year at the end of August, ToyFest draws over 75,000 people from across the U.S. and Canada to East Aurora for a weekend of fun and celebration. It has become one of Western New York’s premier family festivals of the summer. Run by a small volunteer committee and staffed with over 300 volunteers throughout the weekend, ToyFest has grown over its 20 years into a great family event.