Young hockey fans Klaxtin and Davrik Napper took the opportunity to meet Olympic goalie Ben Scrivens at the Border City Card Show Saturday afternoon. Jeannette Benoit-Leipert Meridian Source
The Border City Card Show has become an important event for collectors from both sides of the border.
It’s a chance for collectors to gather and share their common interests while supporting a good cause.
The very first edition of the show was held about a year ago at the LloydMall, with 28 tables. The next show was in October 2023 with 38 tables, and the most recent show held March 23 at the Gold Horse Casino featured 52 tables.
“I like to say that today is a hobby show, but we’ve been able to turn it into a fundraiser for Lloydminster Sexual Assault Services (LSAS),” said event organizer Chris Brinklow.
“My primary goal through this is utilizing the hobby world and trying to make something good come out of it. It’s kind of a win for the community in a handful of ways.”
LSAS will receive money raised from the door entry fees, some of the raffles and the 50/50 draw that went on during the show.
“I’m very happy with the turnout from the vendors and I think the vendors will be seeing over 300 people come through by the end of the day,” said Brinklow, adding Lloydminster is the perfect place to draw collectors from both provinces.
There were vendors from Regina, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, and Edmonton, just to name a few.
“Most of it is hockey, but we also have the Pokemon, we have Magic, Border City Games who have been here since day one,” said Brinklow.
“Obviously, the hype this year is Connor Bedard. A single Connor Bedard rookie card is going for about $800, and for a kid that hasn’t played 60 games in the NHL yet, that is a huge price tag.”
Another big draw to the show was the fact that former NHLer and Olympic goaltender Ben Scrivens was there meeting fans and signing memorabilia.
“I live in Edmonton again and I’m connected with Chris. The collector community is one of the strongest as far as hockey fandom, so it kind of makes a lot of sense for me to make the trek out and meet some avid hockey fans today,” said Scrivens, between autographs.
“It’s a nice experience, strokes the ego a little bit which is a nice piece and it’s great to just connect with people over a common shared interest, you know.
“Games that they remember coming to that you were playing in kind of brings it full circle because you’re out there and you’re performing in front of a mass of people, but to put faces and stories to some of those experiences is a cool opportunity at these events.”
Brinklow was thrilled that Scrivens came out to support the event, and he pointed out one other notable person in the crowd as well.
The man who fueled his love for collecting when he was growing up in Nipawin, SK—Doug McGirr.
“My own hobby world experience came full circle and to be able to have Doug here, 45 years later. He still has his old collection, and there’s some new stuff as well,” said Brinklow.
McGirr said he got into the business in 1986 after buying the Roxy Theatre and setting up a little bookshop within it. Treasure Island Bookstore.
“We sold books, magazines, sports cards and memorabilia, and that was a big thing in the late 80s and the early 1990s,” said McGirr.
“Collecting and trading has its highs and its lows. You should be in it for the fun of it, you shouldn’t be in it for profit and gain—I think,” he said, adding one of the things he has enjoyed most over the years has been connecting with youth in the community.
“I liked to work with the young people, feed them as much information as you can, so they become a fan of hockey and love to collect different things and learn about different things.
“It’s just a great hobby and a great learning tool for young people.”
