The Bendigo Record Fair is back this weekend, with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 albums up for grabs at the All Seasons Hotel on Sunday.
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While organiser Peter Pascoe was forced to cancel associated pop-culture event Bendi-Con in 2020 and 2021, at least one record fair went ahead each year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This weekend's fair is looking like a full-house event, with 26 tables of sellers - from central Victoria, the north of the state, Melbourne and even Sydney - set to converge in the climate controlled Lansell room.
What was originally the Bendigo Record, Comic and Toy Fair has "kind of grown a bit", Mr Pascoe says.
Somewhere between 200 and 300 people are expected to "amble through on the day", shopping from a stall or two selling CDs, as well as tables of music-related merch, like T-shirts, books and record accessories, along with the vinyl.
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In terms of the music, "quite a lot of tastes and genres are catered for".
"There's your old time rockabilly, lots of heavy metal, lots of punk, lots of progressive rock, 60s, 70s and 90s," Mr Pascoe said.
More of a consumer than a seller, Mr Pascoe says he originally put on the record fair and Bendi-Con so he didn't have to travel to Melbourne to shop.
"But that didn't work out because I'm pretty much driving all over the state to promote and organise both," he said.
Despite the relative success of the events, he isn't ready to quit his day job.
"It's a labour of love with a bit of pocket money," he says.
Entry to the record fair at the All Seasons Hotel is $5 from 10am or $10 for "early bird" access from 9am, with kids aged 14 and under free.
Bendi-Con this year will be held on August 27.
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