Who Says Grown-Ups Can't Play With Toys?

Growing up, Austinist loved playing with toys. On stormy weekends we'd barricade ourselves in our room and enact gargantuan, epic battles that always ended with cataclysmic destruction. We'd divide our motley collection of action figures, Lego pieces and crazy Japanese metal machinations into Good Guys and Bad Guys: more often than not the former would be championed by the heroic and uber-creatined He-Man; his nemesis was invariably the nefarious Mr. Sinister (with light-up laser eye beams!), or if we were stealthy enough to sneak into our sister's room, the voluptuous younger-sister-of-Barbie, Skipper. What confusing feelings we had about Skipper!

But then, somewhere along the way "Recess" became "Break", and all too quickly we grew up. Because the change was so swift and unexpected, it perfectly captured that brief moment of childhood: the halycon days when plastic figurines meted out justice to those truly deserving it, when our parents were infallible arbiters of right and wrong, and when our perception of the world was rendered clearly in black and white. For us, one of the strongest triggers of these mental pictures are those toys.

That's basically the inspiration behind the Discovery Channel's Pop Nation, an Antiques Roadshow for the pop-culture obsessed. Travelling across the country, they scour America's big cities in search of the ultimate collectors and their wacky, often-kitschy and altogether astounding treasures from childhood. And this Saturday, they're coming to Austin!

Pop Nation looks for collectibles from the 60s and onwards, and their range of items includes everything from lunchboxes, costumes, GI Joes, baseball cards, and even that old Pong console you've got stashed in the attic. Bring up to three items and have them appraised by ultra geeks. If you're lucky, you might even make it to the finale where they'll showcase the most valuable finds. We're planning to stop by just to see what neat toys our fellow Austinites grew up with.

If you're planning on talking with the experts, you might want to register here first.

Pop Nation!
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Austin Convention Center