Last Minute Entry & More
I completely missed CompassCon:Oakville and thought there were no events this weekend.
This event will be held at Galaxy 707 Club on Saturday, February 8th, 2025 from 10:30am to 4:00pm, with early access from 9:30am for $10.
Regular admission with be $5 whilst 12 and under will be admitted free with a parent. The nearest bus stops to the venue are 2616 and 2937, which are located behind the venue and next to its parking lot, and these are serviced by Route 20 on Saturdays on Oakville Transit. And yes, this route does operate from the Oakville Go Station.
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X-Box users should note that a $100 Game & Grub Gift Card purchase at participating Rexall stores from the 7th to the 13th of February, 2025 may make you eligible for a $10 Rexall Gift Card. Consult your local flyer for detail by clicking here.
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Now for some unfortunate news for cinema fans in Quebec – Cinema Guzzo has closed all of their theatres in the province, immediately offering them for sale to cover their 39 Million dollar debts.
Cinestarz has secured their Dollard-Des-Ormeaux location and will be converting it shortly to their brand. But seven theatres remain unsold in the Montreal/Laval area.
Sony Blu-Ray Production To End?
I thought I’d confirm that Sony Entertainment is NOT ending the production of blu-rays.
Sony Storage Media Solutions Inc is ending “the production of all models of Blu-ray disc media, mini discs for recording, MD data for recording, and mini DV cassettes” in February 2025 according to their January 23rd, 2025 press release.
They had ended production of blank recordable CD-R and DVD-R on July 1st, 2024 in response to the drop in demand for optical discs, ending some of their BD-R production at their Tagaze, Japan manufacturing plant. And consumers now mostly backup their music and film on Cloud Storage services, external hard drives and solid state drives, because these offer more storage and have dropped in price in some countries.
Yes, LG had decided to no longer manufacture blu-ray players last month so people had believed Sony Entertainment had ended manufacturing Blu-rays in response to the popularity of streaming. But physical media remains popular in areas with little to no high speed access to the streaming services, which are getting more and more expensive and fail to provide access to all music and films.
I’m cancelling my Netflix subscription soon because of their price hike and I’m sure I wont be alone in looking for better options.
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Speaking of streaming services, you should note that a 5,000 PC Optimum point offer is available to individuals purchasing $50 Apple Gift Cards from participating Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores until January 31st, 2025. And Apple Music & Apple TV offers are available from PC Optimum.
Events this Weekend & More
There will be no record conventions this weekend but Ottawa will be hosting two free events that might be of interest to some of this blog’s readers.
The first will be the two day, Winter Edition of Ottawa Comicon on the 25th and 26th of January at the EY Center:
There will be no guest speakers but plenty of exhibitions at this free event, which will be open from 11am to 6pm on Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday. And note that the Uplands O-Train Station next to the venue will be open on Saturday, the 25th of January, so you will be able to use Lines 2 and 4 that day.
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Furthermore, the 613flea Market will be held at the Aberdeen Pavilion, also on Saturday the 25th of January, 2025, from 10am to 4pm. And you can use Bus Route 7 from the Carleton University Station to & from the venue:
This is a free event that occasionally has vendors that sell vinyl LPs/singles, DVDs/blu-rays and memorabilia, so it might be worth your while to pop on by. And remember to both stock up on cash and warm clothing, because it is cold!
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Now for some news for people in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec:
Steve’s Music will be moving into their new location, 280 St. Catherines Street, by February 1st, 2025. This store faces the former Ottawa Bus Terminal site and is next to Tannis Cash & Carry.
Also scheduled for February is the opening of the Boutique Musique web site; This is a cute little store in the scenic village of Wakefield, Quebec that sells vinyl LPs/singles, CDs and turntables.
Two Events This Weekend
There will be two events, the first being a two day Fan event in Mississauga and the second being a pop up record and CD sale in Burlington:
CSC Fancon 2025 will be held on the 18th and 19th of January, 2025 in Halls 2 & 4 of the International Center in Mississauga, ON.
Admission information for this event can be found by clicking here. And this venue is located next to the Malton Go Station and Malton Via Rail Station, which is also serviced by Bus Route 505 on Brampton Transit (stop #4194) and Bus Route 30 on MiWay (stop #2902). The venue is also serviced by Routes 52B and 52D on the TTC from bus stop #4756, which is an 8 minute walk from the venue.
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The Burlington Pop Up Record Show will be held on Sunday, the 19th of January, 2025 at the Halton Naval Veteran’s Association from 10am to 3pm and admission is a donation to this association.
The nearest bus stops, #204 and #207, are serviced by Routes 3 and 6 on Burlington Transit.
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Sorry for the late post – I was sick. And please note that cash is preferred at these events.
Lions Vinyl Record Fair / St. John’s
The Lions Vinyl Record Fair will be hosted by the St John’s Lions Club in St. John’s, Newfoundland on Sunday the 12th of January, 2025 from 11AM to 4PM.
Admission is $2 cash at the door and the nearest bus stop is bus stop number 6186, which is serviced by Route 15 on Metrobus.
Please note that cash is preferred at these events.