Above this text you should see the music video I put together for this year’s GI Joe Winterfest, which happened last weekend in Louisville, Kentucky.  This is the winter toy show put on by the folks who handle The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo, which usually happens in July, and it’s a heck of a fun show.  We ran a preview of the show in this spot a couple of weeks ago. The video is eight minutes of toy show bliss, set to a rockin’ tune.

Our music is the tune, “Animal Farm” by Sgt. Van & The Highway Dogs. Sgt Van himself is a regular at the show, and also a favorite of Radio Free Charleston on The AIR.  In fact, a new tune by him just opened the show last week. And also apologies to Chuck for misspelling his name in the credits at the end. It’s “Chuck Van Vorhis II.” This is what happens when I edit video at 5 AM.

We are not done with our coverage of Winterfest yet. On Wednesday we’ll be bringing you an interview with Greg Autore, who will tell us about the inflatable tanks you see in the video above, as well as some other great projects he’s worked on. Greg’s a longtime toy industry vet and has tons of great stories that you can read on his website.

That’s not all. Next Friday we’ll bring you a bigger photo essay than the one below, and next Sunday I’ll be compiling all the raw footage we shot, just to appease the completists among you.

For now, enjoy the video, and check out a dozen photos below…

In this photo, Scott Wilde, who is either a wizard or a doctor when it comes to repairing Talking GI Joe is hard at work in the foreground, while Sgt. Van, who provided the music for this video, points to the side.

You’ll learn more about Greg Autore’s Ghost Tank project on Wednesday.

A tub of Godzillies.

Ricky Puckett has some of the coolest toys at his booth.

At Ricky’s booth. I am morally obligated to photograph and post photos of this every time I see it.

Also at Ricky’s booth, but this is here because, later this year Corgi is reissuing the Batboat, just like they did last year with The Batmobile. A reissue of this two-pack, a highly sought-after item, is heavily rumored.

Mel went nuts over the massive, 3-D printed, Bender.

Some folks really know how to get a head in toy collecting.

Rare Super Joe vehicles and accessories. I hear these are compatible with Adventure Command and Astro Command.

Always cool to catch up with Rocko Jerome, the man behind GHOST Agents.

You hardly ever see The Counter Culture Adventurer in the wild.

We leave you with a bird’s eye view of the action.

Be sure to check back next week for much more coverage of Winterfest 2025!