Very Few Events But…
There are no record conventions and only one comicon like event in Vancouver, MiniComi, but if you’re in the National Capital and planning to attend the Canada Day celebrations you should note that the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau is hosting an exhibition celebrating Canadian pop and rock.
Retro – Popular Music in Canada from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s will be on display until Jan 18th, 2026 every day from 9am to 5pm and with extended hours to 7pm on Thursdays and Canada Day itself.
Admission information can be found by clicking here and admission is free to kids aged 17 and younger but a ticket be claimed in their name via the link provided. And note that holders of the Canada Strong Pass that are aged 18 to 24 are entitled to a 50% discount on admission via this form as well.
It also appears that admission is free on Thursday nights from 6 to 7pm and on Canada Day from 9am to 7pm according to the ticket purchasing site. And when it comes to transit, Route 8 services the venue at bus stop number 1940, operating from Pimisi Station in Ottawa on OC Transpo and multiple bus routes on STO also service the museum in the city of Gatineau itself, via bus stop numbers 2612 and 2618.
Enjoy your weekend and Canada. Stay safe and hydrated.
Busy Saturday In Ottawa & More
Not only is Record Store Day on this Saturday, the 12th of April, 2025, but The Ottawa Record Fair will be on from 11am to 4pm at the Carleton-Dominion Chalmers Centre.
Admission to the fair is $5 or $10 for early entry at 10am. And the nearest bus stops, #1902 and #2487, are regularly serviced by several major routes on OC Transpo.
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Also occurring in Ontario that day are three comicons, the first being in nearby Kingston for one day, at the Royal Canadian Legion from 10am to 3pm.
Admission at the Kingston Comicon will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. And this venue is serviced by Route 1 on Kingston Transit via its own bus stop and another bus stop across the street. Non-perishable food items will also be collected at this event.
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The next event of that Day in Ontario will be the Halton Hills Fanfest in Georgetown, from 10am to 4pm at the Halton Hill Public Library.
I believe the event may be free but you might want to contact the library for details. And the nearest bus stops, 102803 and 102804, are serviced Routes 31 and 33 on Go Transit.
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The last event in Ontario that day will also occur on both the 12th and 13th in Timmins at the McIntyre Community Centre.
Admission to Timminscon is $15 for adults, $10 for kids and free form kids under 2. And the venue is serviced by multiple routes on Timmins Transit, which differs depending on the day you will attend the event, although Route 16 appears to operate on both days.
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The Atlantic Entertainment Expo will also be occurring this weekend, on the 12th and 13th of April 2025 in Fredericton, New Brunswick at the Fredericton Convention Center.
Click here for this event’s admission information. The venue has its own bus stop, which is serviced by multiple routes on Fredericton Transit.
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The Toronto/Mississuaga Vinyl Record & Collectibles Show will be held from 10am to 3pm at the Etobicoke Olympium on Sunday, the 13th of April, 2025.
Admission is $5 and the venue is serviced by Route 48 via bus stop numbers 1477 and 1493 on the TTC.
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And finally, the Edmonton Record Fair will be hosted by the Northgate Lion Recreation Center from 11am to 3:30pm on Sunday, April 13th, 2025.
Admission will be $5 or $10 for early admission at 9:30am. And the nearest bus stops to the venue are 77342 and 77350, which is serviced by Route 54 on Edmonton Transit.
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Please note that cash may be preferred at these events. And that a free three month offer from Amazon Music Unlimited is available and includes Audible audio books, one of which will be free to listen to every month.
Pain In The Tariff!
So, I was eying “Dexter’s Laboratory – The Complete Collection” at several retailers and had never considered that the tariffs would have a secondary effect on goods that are not tariffed so I didn’t expect sticker shock a few days back – The price of this DVD collection just skyrocketed, by $30 at some of these retailers.
Like CDs and vinyl, DVDs and Blu-rays are not currently included in the list of goods that are being subjected to tariffs. But I suspect their prices will go up in the states, well above the $20 postal importation exemption, which is rather annoying. And I presume any shipment from the states would be delayed going through customs because they’ll have more forms to fill out, unless Canadians just stop importing from the states via mail.
I did just order the collection from a Canadian seller on eBay for the amount I had encountered before the hike, preferring to avoid the American and Chinese sellers. And if need be I could always try the U.k and Europe for other releases as well.
I personally like Amazon u.k, Amazon France and FNAC for CDs and Region Free DVDs from Europe, and I do have a region free DVD player for some French films that never made their way to DVD in North America. But sometimes deals can be had for under $20 Canadian, not including shipping, and sometimes the shipping rates are acceptable.
I have emailed my local MP and several electoral candidates suggesting a $60 exemption for postal importations from Europe, the U.k and several more of our stable trade partners so I’m hoping we’ll be able to order more from those countries after the election is done.
If you want to support a $60 exemption for postal imports, which is long overdue, you can contact your local Member of Parliament via this form, after the election of course.
Hopefully we’ll be done with this tariff nonsense soon…
My Favourite Canadian Sources
I thought I’d list my favourite Canadian stores for music, film, books and instruments.
My favourite local stores for new and used CDs and vinyl here in Ottawa are Legend Records, The ODDs & SODs Shoppe and Turning Point. But I also like Sunrise Records and HMV, the latter being found in Toys-R-Us Canada stores, and I usually also purchase physical copies of films on DVD and blu-rays from these stores as well.
In Montreal and Gatineau, I shop at Archambault, where one can also find instruments and books in French and English. But for instruments and sheet music in my neck of the woods I shop at Long & McQuade, Granata Music and Steve’s Music.
Indigo offers books and a small selection of new vinyl records at many of their stores, although more vinyl can be found online. And many more Canadian retailers offer goods via Amazon.ca and eBay.ca if you want to do some comparison shopping.
Best Buy Canada stores no longer carry film and music but they do sell them online, some of which come from Canadian retailers. And you should note that Sony Music Canada, Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Canada have their own Canadian shops online.
You might also want to try Saskatchewan chain McNally Robertson and Quebecois chain Librarie Renaud-Bray for books, or Ontario chains The Beat Goes On and Deja Vu Discs for new and used film and music.
Eastern Canadians can also try Taz Records / Backbeat Records for new and used CDs, DVDs, LPs and Blu-rays. And don’t forget that Record Store Day is coming up at many local retailers on April 12th, 2025.
Those are the sources I can think of on the top of my head so I may add some more later on.
Hope this helps.
Prime Day Has Begun
It’s midnight Pacific time and that means Prime Day has begun at Amazon.ca.
Personally, I look for deals on CDs/Vinyl and Blurays first and then browse my wish list to see if anything i’ve added there dropped in price. But you should note that deals will be offered randomly throughout today and tomorrows so it may be worth your while to pop into Amazon.ca every six hours or so.
What i’ve observed it that the majority of savings are in their miscellaneous Amazon Basic products, which can be quite useful, Amazon devices like the Fire branded tablets, televisions and streaming devices, and Blink indoor and outdoor games and doorbells. But I also like to browse their electronics store deals.
I believe a free month of Amazon Prime is currently being offered to new members and the $9.99 (plus taxes) monthly fee may be worth it if you are considering a big ticket item. But other offers are also being added to sweeten the deal, like a free 12 month Doordash Dashpass membership, on top of the usual subscriptions to the Amazon Music and Prime Video streaming services, Prime Reading eBook service and Prime Gaming, which includes access to Twitch.
As i’ve mentioned in my previous blog entry, students ages 19 to 24 can also received an extended free tryout period, an additional 50% discount on membership and deals on products students use, which is also quite useful for parents with kids off to college and university.
By the way, the aforementioned Doordash Dashpass membership offer is available to all current members as well, until 06/06/2025. And you should keep an eye out for discounted Doordash Gift Cards at your local grocery, pharmacy and gas stations, or bonus loyalty point offers given with the purchase of these gift cards at those retailers.
On a side note, new Prime members should know that Air Miles members can get 50 Bonus Air Miles by renting discounted films at Prime Video via airmilesshop.ca until the end of the 17th of July.
Enjoy.
Prime Day Is Coming (July 16th-17th)
I believe an offer for a free 30 day Amazon Prime membership should be available to new members at Amazon.ca today, the 15th of July, 2024. And Prime Student is also available free for six months for students aged 19 to 24, with a special deal for students in the province of Quebec.
Prime Members who also like to stream music also have an option for Amazon Music Unlimited, which will be free for 5 months instead of one until the end of Prime Day, or 3 months for free for individuals that aren’t subscribe to Amazon Prime.