More than 150 people filed into Royal Canadian Legion Branch 124 within the first hour of its third pop-up record show on Sunday, already surpassing the full-day totals from both previous shows.
The numbers mark a rapid rise for an event that began last December as a small fundraiser. The show is pulling in music fans from across Southern Ontario, funding hall upgrades and giving younger volunteers a reason to help out in the community.
Chrystal Haverstock, a Legion board member who organizes the show, credits a targeted email blast sent to 3,300 people across southern Ontario — a list she has built and updated for more than 10 years — for the surge.
“It brings awareness to the Legion; that it’s kind of fun, and we do stuff here,” said Haverstock.
“It’s not just for members. This is for the general public.”
The first show, held Dec. 21, drew 105 people over the entire day. The second drew 130. Sunday’s crowd hit 150 by 1 p.m.
Door proceeds go directly to the branch. The first show raised $450 at the door and the second $525. That money helped pay for a soundbar, a new iPad and Sonos audio equipment. Those upgrades were chosen, as one board member noted, because music brings people in and the hall’s sound needs to match.
The show is deliberately kept affordable. Every record is priced at $20 or under, a contrast to larger shows where inventory can range from a dollar to several thousand. Haverstock said the format is designed for people just getting into the hobby, not only seasoned collectors she calls “vinyl junkies.”
Joan Berger made the drive from Hamilton for the first time, drawn by Haverstock’s invitation and the prospect of a new room full of unfamiliar records. She sells CDs and world music, with reggae and dub kept back at home for herself.
“I always like going to a new place and meeting different people, and I get to find things that I’ve never found,” said Berger.
She described the past few years as hard ones, and said music has been a steadying force in her life.
“Music helps keep me level as much as possible,” she said.
Anita Smith, another vendor, spoke in broader terms about why events like this keep drawing people in. She connected the appetite for physical records to something larger than nostalgia or hobby.
“People are looking for something with authentic emotions in them,” said Smith.
As streaming and AI-generated content flood the market, she said older recordings feel different — written from a specific interior point of view, not manufactured for scale.
“We are looking these days for meaning in things,” she said. “We really need to be grounded. We need to clutch on to something that’s going to maintain our mental and emotional health.”
Simon Vaughan, a vendor, DJ and butcher at Value Mart who lives three blocks from the Legion, arrived Sunday morning after a late-night all-vinyl dance party at Taps Brewhouse in Niagara Falls.
He has recently started volunteering with the Legion branch, helping with food events and setup, after realizing the Legion is open to anyone — not just those with military service.
“I have two hands, two feet, and I can do it,” said Vaughan. “It’s how you build the community.”
Vaughan said the shift in his thinking came after watching the branch struggle with an aging volunteer base. A St. Patrick’s Day event the previous Tuesday drew 80 people, possible, he said, only because younger volunteers could staff it.
The Legion is offering free memberships through 2026 to mark the branch’s 100th anniversary.
The next small show at Branch 124 is set for April 19. The larger St. Catharines show follows on June 14, both on Sundays.
