Consumer Information

Record Conventions & More

There will be two record conventions and one comic book convention this weekend, all in Ontario.

The Ottawa Record Fair will be held at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre on Saturday, the 5th of October, 2024 from 11am to 4pm.

Admission will be $5 and multiple routes service the nearest bus stops on nearby Bank Street (1902 and 2487). Consult OC Transpo for additional information.

The Newmarket Vinyl Record & Collectibles Show will occur the following day, on Sunday October 6th, 2024, from 10am to 3pm at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 426.

Admission will be $5 and the nearest bus stops to the venue, bus stop numbers 2060 and 2074, are a seven minute walk south Muriel Street and on Gorham Street. Route 56 services these stops and York Regional Transit does have a trip planner.

The Ajax Comicon will also occur this Sunday at the Ajax Community Center, in the HMS Community Hall from 10am to 3pm.

Admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. And the venue is serviced by two bus stops, numbers 2070 and 2079, with Route 224 on Durham Regional Transit.

Note that cash may be preferable at these events, so you may want to look for the nearest ATMs on the maps that were provided. And by the way, don’t forget that Prime Big Day Deals will be happening on the 8th and 9th at Amazon.ca, which includes deals on music, television & film, electronics and more.

Enjoy.

Cineplex Decision

Cineplex was fined $39 million for deceptive marketing practices by the Competition Tribunal on the 23rd of this month but have stated that they would appeal it according to a press release issued that same day, so consumers will probably continue paying the $1.50 online convenience fees until further notice.

Personally, I’ve decided to simply go with discounted tickets and gift cards from Costco to counteract the fee. But I of course have a local Landmark Theatre so I’m in a better position than some. And theatres are closing.

Cine Starz is down to five theatres and Cineplex recently closed their theatre in Brockville, the community’s only movie theatre, so the industry is in serious trouble, especially the independent theatres according to a recent study.

The recent addition of foreign films to the major theatre chains could help but most European films appear to still be limited to the smaller indie theatres, which are usually downtown, so more could be done to get people into seats. But I don’t think nickel and dime schemes will be tolerated by most consumers.

Home premiere releases have already resulted in a significant drop in attendance and consequently concession sale losses yet they thought this fee would somehow not be perceived as negative by consumers?

I don’t get it. And like many consumers I’m getting quite picky when it comes to films because of trope fatigue so they’ll need to somehow counteract these fees, if not drop them entirely for members of their loyalty programs, at least.

Four Record Conventions and More

There will be record conventions in Fort Erie, Guelph, North Bay and Sudbury, as well as a comic convention in Cobourg.

The Fort Erie Record Show will be held on Saturday, the 28th of September, 2024 at the Sessions On The River live venue and recording studio from 10am to 3pm.

Admission will be $3 or free for kids 12 and under. And on demand transit is available from Niagara Transit.

The North Bay Record Show will also be held this Saturday from 10am to 3pm but at the North Bay Elk’s Lodge No 25, with early entry for $10 at 9am.

Regular admission will be $5 and the venue is serviced by Route 5 on North Bay Transit.

The final event for Saturday will be the Cobourg Comicon, which will be from 10am to 3pm at the Cobourg Community Center.

Admission will be $5 or free for children 12 and under. And on demand transit services are available from Cobourg Transit.

The Guelph Record Show will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion – Branch 234 on Sunday, September 29th, 2024 from 10:30 to 4pm and admission will be $5.

This venue is serviced by Route 4 on Guelph Transit and is listed as bus stop 5811.

The Sudbury Music & Collectible Show will again be held at the Northbury Hotel and Conference Centre from 10am to 3pm on Sunday, the 29th of September 2024.

Admission will be $5 or $10 for early entry at 9am to 10am. And the venue is serviced by multiple routes on Sudbury Transit and is a ten minute walk away from the Via Rail Station.

Please note that cash may be preferred at these events, so you might want to find the nearest ATYMs to the venues hosting them. Enjoy.

A Record Convention & Lots of Comicon

The Toronto/Mississauga Vinyl Record & Collectibles Show will be this Sunday, from 10am to 3pm at the Etobicoke Olympium, and admission will be $5.

The venue has two bus stops, 1477 and 1493, which is served by Route 48 out of Royal York Station on TTC.

The Edmonton Expo three-day Comics, Sci-Fi, Horror, Anime, and Gaming event will start tomorrow and end on Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Center and admission priced vary (click here for information).

This venue is next to Coliseum Station, which is also serviced by multiple major bus routes. Contact Edmonton Transit for additional details.

The Hamilton Comicon will be hosted by the Hamilton Convention Centre this Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 4pm.

Admission varies (click here for information) and the venue is serviced by multiple major routes because it is located in the core, next to Hamilton City Hall. Contact Hamilton Transit for additional information.

Thundercon will also occur on Saturday and Sunday at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition grounds in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Admission varies (click here for information) and the venue is serviced by Route 3M by Thunder Bay Transit via bus stop numbers 1754 and 1808.

The Peterborough Comicon is a single day event that will be held on Saturday, the 21st of September, 2024, from 10am to 3pm at The Venue.

Admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. And the nearest bus stops, 1494 and 1537, are serviced by Routes 2 and 12 on Peterborough Transit.

The Kingston Comicon will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560 from 10 am to 3pm on Sunday, the 22nd of September 2014. And admission will also be $5 or free for kids under 12 years old.

This venue is serviced by Route 1 on Kingston Transit. * Please note that the LaSalle Causeway Bridge is closed to traffic and vehicular access is via Montreal road.

Bonus Offer Alert: $100 Google Play or Indigo gift card purchases at participating Loblaws Inc and Shopper Drug Mart Inc. banner stores will result in 10,000 PC Optimum Point bonuses until September 25, 2024. There is a limit of two $100 cards on this offer, up to a max of 20,000 PC Optimum Points.

Note that Prime Big Day Deals at Amazon.ca will be on October 8th and 9th, 2024.

This Weekend’s Conventions

There are no record conventions this weekend but memorabilia collectors should know that multiple Comic Cons are schedules for Ottawa, Barrie and Belleville, Ontario.

The weekend long Ottawa ComicCon will be held at the EY Center from the 6th to the 8th of September, 2024.

Admission varies (Click here for information) and the venue is serviced by multiple major routes on OC Transport, including Routes 97 and 99 from Bus Stop 1076, which is located at the venue’s main entrance.

Attendees of the above mentioned convention should note that the Capital Trade Show is also occurring in Ottawa, on Sunday, the 8th of September, 2024 from 10am to 3pm at the Nepean Sportsplex, which is a short drive away via West Hunt Club Road from the EY Center.

Admission to this event is free, as is parking. And the venue is serviced by two major bus stops, 1652 and 1683. But unfortunately it takes around from an hour and 10 minutes to an hour 30 minutes to reach this venue from the EY Center by bus according to the OC Transpo Trip Planner.

The Barrie Comicon will be held at the Barrie Curling Club on Saturday the 7th of September, 2024, from 10 am to 3pm. And admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under.

The venue is serviced by routes 8A and 8B on Barrie Transit and the nearest bus stops to the venue are 289 and 873.

The Belleville Comicon will occur on Sunday, September 8th, 2024 from 10am to 3pm at the Mesonic Temple. And admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under.

This venue is serviced by routes 5A and 5B on Belleville Transit, which are both a three minute walk away on nearby Dundas Street East.

Please note that cash may be preferred at these events.

Enjoy.

Labour Day Weekend

There are no record conventions or comic conventions this weekend because it’s Labour Day weekend. But you should keep an eye on your local record stores for specials.

For example, you can get 20% off on $100+ in store purchases of vinyl this weekend at Sunrise Records locations. And there are also the usual Labour Day discounts on CDs & vinyl at Amazon Canada and Amazon.com, if you want to do some comparison shopping.

By the way, you should note that the PC Optimum / Apple Music promotion for three months ends today, Wednesday the 28th of August, 2024 (click here for details), as does the 5000 Bonus Points Offer on $50 Apple Gift Card purchases from participating Shoppers Drug Mart stores. But Playstation users should note that a 10,000 Bonus Points Offer on $100 Playstation Gift Cards will begin tomorrow at participating Atlantic Superstore and Real Canadian Superstore locations and end on August 31st.

Enjoy.