Music enthusiasts congregated on Oct. 20, 2024 at Acadia Recreation Complex for Alberta’s oldest record fair, the Calgary Music Collectors Show (CMCS). More than 100 vendors from all over Western Canada sold vinyl at the event. CDs, cassettes, music-related DVDs, posters, band merch and music-themed memorabilia were also available for fairgoers to buy.
Established in 2008 by Mark Corner, a veteran of the vinyl scene with a passion for physical media and community, the fair now welcomes upwards of 1,000 collectors each year.
While serious music collectors travel across Canada to attend countless record fairs, Corner says “I can honestly say ours is the best. Besides having people who trade in records for a living, we’ve got collectors who are selling part of their own collection, which always makes things more interesting. You never know exactly what you’re going to find.”
Corner also explained some challenges he faces when organizing a fair of this scale.
“Getting the word out is one of the biggest challenges,” said Corner. “You also don’t want to book it when there’s too many other events happening. You want to make sure that you have an interesting number of vendors, a good mix of genres. Besides the mainstream vendors, you want to try and attract as many new people as possible, while keeping it interesting for the collectors.”
Corner also said that it’s important for the fair to feature a different pool of vendors attending each show. This ensures there is a new selection of vinyl at every fair.
“It’s just a really enjoyable hobby. I hear these different stats of how many different turntables sell every day at various stores. So it’s still collecting momentum.”
Mark Corner
The event attracts diverse sellers with an astonishing variety of records and memorabilia. Some stalls boast rare Japanese jazz fusion imports, while others sell obscure hip-hop releases and some trade in heavy metal LPs. An exciting lineup of local DJs spin and scratch as attendees browse through the selection of vinyl and CDs.
Attendees said they were drawn to the fair because of its community, diversity and opportunity to chat with like-minded people about music.
Corner also touched on the future of the fair and the surge of younger collectors getting into vinyl for the first time.
“It’s just a really enjoyable hobby. I hear these different stats of how many different turntables sell every day at various stores. So it’s still collecting momentum.”
The next CMCS record fair takes place on April 17, 2025, with another later that fall in October. Both will take place at Acadia Recreation Complex.