We sat down with Mike Wolfe to learn more about the Kid Pickers website, Â Kid Picker contest at the Tennessee State Fair and how Mike starting pickin’ at a very young age.
WS:Â How long has the Kid Pickers website been up and running?
Wolfe:Â About 18 months … the KID PICKERS book came out in the spring of 2013 and the site and national group came together just before . ..
WS:Â You have said that you started picking at an early age, what is your most memorable experience pickin’ as a kid?
Wolfe:Â One of my most memorable picks was certainly my first. I was about 5 and it was my first bicycle. I picked it from a garage down the alley from where I lived and I was never so proud of anything in my life. That treasure set me on my path. I have loved bicycles and picking ever since.
WS:Â After the launch of your book Kid Pickers, it seems natural a show will follow. Is there talk of a Kid Picker show?
Wolfe: Yes, we’ve been talking about it and continue to develop the idea. Hopefully it will come together because I know from my Kid Pickers all over the country that kids are really into it. Nothing is more important than getting kids interested in family and community, which picking definitely does, and nothing is more entertaining than seeing the treasures kids find and hearing them tell their stories.
WS:Â Why do you think it is important to teach kids to “save” things in this disposable society where you can buythings for $1 and if it breaks, you just throw it away.
Wolfe: Our disposable society isn’t sustainable. It’s important for kids to know that things have a purpose and they can have a value. And if they’re well-made, they can serve that purpose and grow in value for years and years.
WS:Â Why the Tennessee State Fair for the Kid Pickers contest?
Wolfe: I’m looking forward to seeing kids at the Fair – it’s a great place for families, and it’ll be a great opportunity for them to meet other Kid Pickers, exchange ideas and stories, and make plans for more picking next year!
The Kid Pickers Pick & Sell Market will take place in the Sports Arena on Sunday, September 7. All 150 advance entries, as well as any children ages 7 – 13 bringing a pick to the fair that day, will receive space while it lasts at the Kid Pickers Pick & Sell Market, as well as the opportunity to talk about the history of their item, and a chance to sell their pick. Mike Wolfe of Antique Archaeology will appear at the Kid Pickers Pick & Sell market as well, and along with HISTORY®, will announce the winners of the national Pick & Tell contest and present them with scholarship winnings.
Thanks to Mike Wolfe for sitting down with us to share about the Kid Pickers contest.  For more information about the contest, visit here.  If you have a story you would like us to share, contact [email protected].
