The weekend's garage sales are down at the bottom. Everything else is up here.

This summer we had my son's birthday at Splitsville in Stoney Creek, and I have to admit it was really fun. This one is a bit different from the usual. We weren't hunting for an activity. We were hunting for a venue and I have to credit my wife for finding it and booking it.

So here is the math, because that is the part nobody tells you up front. Six kids showed up. For about $250 we got a lane for an hour and a half, pizza and drinks, and a $10 arcade card for every kid. That was the booked package. To me that sounds like quite the deal, and it came in cheaper than any of the other venues you would think of first.

The kids had an absolute blast launching the balls down the lane. Staff were nice and accommodating. We brought our own cake and nobody blinked.

Then there is the arcade, which is the other half of the building, and the part I actually wanted to play. You load a card now. No quarters, no tokens, just a credit system, which is a long way from the arcades I grew up on. I put $40 on cards for the kids, a far cry from the two quarters I used to walk into an arcade with. If I had $40 to play in an arcade, I would have finished The Ninja Turtles arcade game twice and still have money left over to challenge others in Mortal Kombat. But whatever. It was his birthday.

I barely played any of it. I was basically babysitting the little one the whole time.

What I had not seen the last time I was there is the upper floor. TVs, the game on, drinks. It's cute. And that is where the day turned. The parents who came with their kids wanted to bowl too, so we grabbed them a lane and ordered more food, and it quietly became a party for the adults as well as the kids which was an added bonus. I wish I was able to socialize more but I'm really glad the parents had fun. That part was all on top of the $250, obviously.

That is the thing I like about Splitsville over an indoor playground or laser tag. The adults can actually play. You are not just standing by the cubbies holding twelve coats. The arcade has all kinds of games, lots of racing, some VR. It's not Ninja Turtles, but it'll do.

Neeks

I'm still not done the little project I'm working on. All I'll say for now is that it combines his love for cars and my love for Beverly Hills Cop. It's taking longer than I thought.

So this week, a sale instead, and one I'm definitely going to. Saturday August 22, streetwear and vintage at the Courtyard by Marriott on Upper James, and everything on the main racks is twenty bucks.

I went last year and found a couple of things for myself and my son. It was a lot of odd shirts and hats, and I'll be honest, if you're going to a sale like this, you're going to see a lot of what didn't sell. But I like colourful clothes, and I like any logo that's from a long time ago or references the 80s, and there were enough of those last year that I want to go back and see what turns up this time.

Nobody asked me to write this. I have nothing to do with these guys, I just love a good sale.

Free to get in, free to park, and they put out a fresh batch at 3pm, so rolling in right at noon isn't the only play. I'll be the guy digging through the racks looking for something loud.

Details: Streetcvlture on Facebook

18 sales across Hamilton this weekend. Most of them Saturday, with a few Friday and Sunday stragglers. The east end is the busiest pocket, then Stoney Creek and the Mountain.

See the full map →

Map is updated every Thursday. Bring a coffee, bring the kids, come home with something you will have to explain.