It’s Our Birthday, and We’re Having a Sale-ebration!

Sale Dates:  March 29, 30, and 31, 2012

It’s that time of year again–the time when we say “Thanks!” to our customers for another year (And this one will be our 28th!  No-one has a harder time believing that than we do, honestly.)

We’ll be holding our annual Birthday Sale at the end of March, as usual.  This year the dates are Thursday 29 March, Friday 30 March, and Saturday 31 March.  This sale occurs only in the bricks-and-mortar store located at 302 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario.  (The eBay store operates as a separate division, with its own schedule, and does not take part in this sale.)

Also as usual, everything in the Belleville store will be on sale, but some things will be more steeply discounted than others.  Here are just some of the close-out deals we’ll be offering during the sale:

• All sizes FischerTip modeling material kits will be 50% off
• Rub a Dub Fun in the Tub Fizzy Tints from Alex Toys was $10.00 now $5.00
• Moonjar Classic Moneybox was $30.00 now $15.00
• Paintable Rubber Boots, assorted sizes, was $30.00 now $15.00
• Ecotronic Eco-Mic or Eco-Phone was $25.00 now $12.50
• Heroclix gaming miniatures, assorted sets, 30% off
• Clip Clop Marionette Puppets, were $15.00, now $7.50
• All Calico Critters houses, furniture, and critters will be 30% off
• Streamridge Small Wooden Sleigh, was $100.00, now $70.00

There will be lots more deep discounts on ends-of-lines and things we’re clearing out.  Everything that isn’t specifically marked down at some higher rate will be 15% off, for those three days only.  Every single thing in the store will be on sale–board games, Lego, Playmobil, puzzles, art supplies, dress-up, preschool and baby toys, dolls, Games Workshop miniatures and supplies.  Craft kits.  Wooden trains.  Every.  Single.  Thing.

All sales are final on ends-of-lines and clear-outs.

See you there!

Only 161 Sleeps Till Christmas* — It’s Time to Start Shopping!

Belleville from the Harbour

* As of Saturday

 

And what better time to start Christmas shopping than during the annual Sidewalk Sale here in downtown Belleville?  For as long as I can remember — certainly for all 26 years that we have been in business here — merchants have been rolling tables and bins stocked with bargain-priced goodies outside for the day, and hoping (sometimes without luck) for a clear sunny day.   In years past, we have sometimes been lucky enough to have the Farmers’ Market move to Front Street for the day, too, which was always interesting and fun.  (These days, of course, the Farmers’ Market has its own beautiful arcade space behind City Hall, just adjacent to Front Street.  It’s well worth a visit.)

Another fabulous event being held in tandem with the Sidewalk Sale this Saturday is Berry-licious, the annual competition between downtown chefs to see who can produce the most mouth-watering creation featuring local strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  The competition runs from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., or until all the berries are gone.  Don’t wait too long!

In honour of the Sidewalk Sale tradition, we’ll be holding a one-day store-wide sale at Scalliwag Toys on Saturday 16 July 2011.  Every regularly-priced item in the store will be sold at a discount equivalent to the HST usually applied, so that an item marked at $4.99, say, will sell for just that (in other words, you save the tax).

There will also be bigger discounts on ends-of-lines and close-out items, which will be tagged at up to 50% off.  Most of these are things that we thought were pretty neat … unfortunately, not enough customers agreed (at the regular price, anyway) for us to keep carrying them.  These close-outs are limited in quantity, of course.  All sales on close-out merchandise are final.

No lay-aways are available during the sale, and we won’t be taking special orders at these prices.

Come on down on Saturday, indulge in a few Berry-licious goodies, and see whether you spot a bargain.  See you there!

Happy Hannukah!

Tree of Life Menorah

I have a confession to make.  When I was a kid in Montreal, I really envied my Jewish friends’ celebration of Hannukah, the Festival of Lights.  Sure, we had Christmas — which was great!  A pile of presents, lots of fun hanging out with all the cousins, and a big family dinner … but my friends had Hannukah — eight days of celebration!  Eight days of presents, eight days of amazing food, eight days of beautiful ritual.

Today at sundown marks the beginning of Hannukah for this year.  So, this week — even though I’m not Jewish — I’ll make some potato latkes (here’s a link to a good recipe from allrecipes.com), and I’ll celebrate the infinite miracle that is humanity, and hope for our future and that of our planet.

Happy Hannukah to all.

Five Minutes of Fame?

I was interviewed recently by Karelia Software, the makers of Sandvox (the program I use to create and maintain our website).  Here’s a link to the interview page.

I highly recommend Sandvox to any Mac user who needs to build a website.  The designs are beautiful and varied, the learning curve is not terribly steep, and the community is there, ready and willing to help if needed.  The software is available in two versions, Basic and Pro.  I started out with Basic a couple of years ago, and only just now upgraded to Pro, which allows me to add raw HTML and other scripting to the site.

It’s still work, and it still causes me headaches from time to time, but the results are worth it.  If you’re a Mac user and you need to build a site, go download the demo and give it a try.  It might just be what you’re looking for.

The New Warhammer Fantasy Rulebook Arrives 10 July!

Warhammer Fantasy Rulebook 2010

Saturday 10 July sees the release of the new Warhammer Fantasy Rulebook, which introduces lots of interesting changes to strategy for players with Fantasy armies. We’ll be hosting a “Wind of Change” party on 10 July from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during which players can come down, learn to play with the new rules, and meet other Warhammer fans.

There will also be cookies

What’s In the New Rulebook?

The Rules
Here you’ll find all of the rules and information you need to wage war with an army of Citadel miniatures across the dangerous and enchanted landscapes of the Warhammer World.

The Warhammer World
This section explores the bloody background and war-ravaged history of the Warhammer World, detailing all of the races, and the great battles and pivotal events that have shaped the Warhammer World.

Miniatures Showcase
Here you’ll find over 100 pages of gloriously painted Citadel miniatures, a showcase of every Warhammer army. You’ll also find a slew of hobby tips that cover everything from assembling and painting your miniatures, to creating your own battlefield for them to fight over.

Warhammer Battles
This section is all about telling a tale through your games of Warhammer and there are six narrative scenarios to get you started. It even guides you through linking your battles together into epic campaigns and playing cinematic Legendary Battles.

The Lores of Magic
In this section you’ll find full rules and descriptions for each of the eight Lores of Magic that your wizards and spell casters can use to vanquish your foes and bolster your forces with.