Totally rad Tucson: Revisit the 1980s with these choice activities | Subscriber

[ad_1]

Mike Olivares says he owns about 2,600 VHS tapes. Some are at his home and the rest is stored. He started collecting in 1990 and just kept going. Olivares is the organizer of the VHS Bazaar, which this year will take place in the Screening Room as part of the Arizona Underground Film Festival.

Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star

For Tucsonans in their 30s and 40s, the 1980s was a magical time of parachute pants and Teddy Ruxpins, New Kids on the Block on the radio and He-Man battled Skeletor for Castle Grayskull Saturday morning.

A lot has happened since then. Those toys, tapes, video games, and other relics from the 80s that you loved were sold by your parents years ago, and technology is so advanced that you no longer have to stand up or move to watch the channel on yours Switch TVs. Ask Alexa to do this.

But like all pop culture artifacts from days gone by, they didn’t all end up in the landfill. Your childhood lives on the streets of Tucson, waiting to be bought, watched, listened to and played.

If you grew up in the 1980s, here are some ways to recapture the magic of your youth.

Say yes to VHS

Mike Olivares can reduce one of his greatest passions in his life to three simple words: Be kind, rewind.

At 38, Olivares is a child of the 80s. His early years were filled with simple joys; snack at the Fun Dip and watch the latest episodes of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.

One of his fondest memories was going to the local video store with his family to borrow VHS tapes for evening entertainment.

“There was a zip at Ajo and Mission,” said Olivares. “Right across from Kennedy Park. We’d get our family dinner at Little Caesars, go to Zip and rent ‘The Goonies’ for the 15th time. “

Olivares has never lost his love for VHS tapes. Today he collects them. During his days off as the manager of Zia Records on East Speedway, he looks at titles from his huge library in his home office.

Mike Olivares, a VHS collector, says his favorite tracks are horror movies, movies like Critters and The Dungeonmaster. He buys everything he can in thrift shops and flea markets.

Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star

He even helps organize regular VHS bazaars where like-minded fans of this old-school technique can buy, sell, and trade tapes from their own collections.

The next VHS Bazaar will take place this Sunday, September 19th, from 12pm to 4pm in the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress, Downtown, as part of the Arizona Underground Film Festival. It’s free and open to the public.

Olivares said the Tucson VHS community is small but powerful. You can expect maybe four to five vendors at the bazaar with hundreds of titles, some rarer, some more frequent, as well as classic films showing on the big screen.

For Olivares, the attraction to VHS tapes is not the value, and there can be value. A factory-sealed 1984 VHS copy of “Star Wars” sold for $ 12,000 on eBay just last month.

He’s there out of love for the media. His favorite titles are horror films, films like “Critters” and “The Dungeonmaster”. He buys everything he can in thrift shops and flea markets.

“That nostalgic aspect remains with many of us,” he said. “When I see things, the dollar signs don’t light up in my eyes. It’s more like, ‘This is great. I’ve never owned that before. I’ve always wanted that. ‘ “

Olivares keeps the majority of his collection in his office, each one being carefully rewound for future use.

“There’s nothing worse than being ready to see a movie and it’s all done at the end,” he said.

Find out more about the VHS bazaar at azuff.org

All fun and games

Stroll through arcade chains like Dave & Buster’s, 1390 E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd. and Round One at Park Place, 5950 E. Broadway, and you’ll find huge versions of classic video games from the early 1980s, titles like Galaga and Millipede, but on steroids.

But for the true old-school arcade experience with a twist for adults, the Cobra Arcade Bar on the corner of East Congress and North Scott Avenues in downtown is the place to be.

The Gaming Bar, a spin-off of the original Cobra Arcade Bar in Phoenix, is jam-packed with two floors of classic games from the 1980s and 90s.

“We have Tetris, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Rampage,” said Richard French, general manager of Cobra’s Tucson facility. “Miss Pac-Man is always busy when she is here.”

Isaac Baez participates in one of the pinball games on the second floor of the Cobra Arcade Bar in Tucson.

Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Arcade games are rotated in and out of Cobra on a regular basis to keep things interesting.

Also interesting: Cobra’s fully stocked bar with a selection of cocktails named after characters from your favorite video games (would you prefer an Inky’s Drinky or a Princess Peach?)

When your joystick hands get tired, hang out with friends in the bar’s lounge seating or on the deck overlooking the East Congress, while DJs play Wednesday through Sunday.

French said there is never a camouflage or dress code at Cobra where they try to be as welcoming as possible.

David Estrada draws a pearl at risk while playing the video game The Lost World Jurassic Park at the Cobra Arcade Bar.

Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

“I find a lot of people come in and have an idea of ​​what they want to play before they look around,” he said. “Everyone has this story about the gas station or laundromat in their town that had two arcade games. They want to play these games again. “

More information is available at cobraarcadebar.com

Vintage toy scene

Brick and mortar shops selling vintage toys are dotted around the Old Pueblo.

Some of the city’s best-known toy resale establishments include longtime Retro Toys and More, 2602 N. Stone Ave., and Generation Cool, 404 N. Fourth Ave.

For real 80s toy connoisseurs looking for smoking deals for classic figures, there is only one place on a Friday or Saturday evening: the Tanque Verde Swap Meet.

Once located on East Tanque Verde Road, the Swap now calls 4100 S. Palo Verde home and can attract hundreds of traders during the fall and spring seasons.

Anything a Tucsonan can dump can be found in barter, but toys are a common sight whether they’re being sold by their original owners to make a few extra bucks, vintage dealers lined up on folding tables for the evening set up or regularly sellers with permanent structures on the property.

One of the more visually appealing toy destinations in Tanque Verde is El Haberdashery, which is located on the northeast side of the swap board.

Thousands of toys and vintage items, many from the 1980s, including plastic lunch boxes with matching thermoses and snork plush dolls, fill every inch of the wall, lining shelves and decorating hollowed-out arcade game cabinets in the room.

The couple Luther and Bonnie Jako go out of their way to make entering their building a wild ride.

“That increases the fun and joy,” says Luther Jako. “It is really important to me that the displays are as amazing as the things inside.”

El Haberdashery, a toy store at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet that sells many toys from the 80s and 90s.

Bonnie As

The Jakos don’t just focus on vintage toys.

“We try not to be biased,” said Luther Jako. “We’re not kids ourselves, so we don’t really know about anime or the latest trends. We think all toys are cool. Whatever people like, we try to store it. “

But they make sure they get their fair share of the older things.

“Nostalgia makes everyone happy,” said Luther. “And everything old is new and cool again. There are 5-year-olds who know things that we grew up with. “

The Jakos even make their own toys using parts from broken action figures that they can find on the swap forum, Facebook marketplace, or even buy from regular customers.

They both make it, but Bonnie says Luther can really get into the process.

“He digs into their heads, uses epoxy,” said Bonnie Jako. “He made up to 30 bespoke toys in a week.”

In the long term, the Jakos are planning to hopefully expand their vintage and custom toy empire to a second location in Tucson. Luther Jako also hopes to be able to open his own gambling hall in town one day.

For the time being, they look forward to watching children, families and toy collectors marvel and rummage.

“We mix everything together because we want people to go on a treasure hunt,” said Luther. “That’s part of the fun of Tanque Verde. To be rewarded for looking really hard. “

Follow El Haberdashery @ elhaberdash3ry on Instagram or facebook.com/elhaberdash3ry on Facebook.

Classic films on the big screen

If your VHS player broke or you haven’t had one since George HW Bush was president, you can always see some classic ’80s movies at Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway.

The independent film house’s Cult Classic series recently screened a number of films from the 1980s. Last week it was Howard the Duck. This Friday, September 17th and Saturday, September 18th, the 1986 John Carpenter action film “Big Trouble in Little China” starring Kurt Russell will be shown.

Kim Cattrall (as Gracie Law), Kurt Russell (as Jack Burton), Dennis Dun (as Wang Chi) and Suzee Pai (as Miao Yin) in Big Trouble in Little China (1986) directed by John Carpenter.

20th Century Fox Film Corp.

Make a hit on September 24th, 25th, or 30th and watch David Lynch’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1984 novel “Dune” before the remake comes out in October. Cult Classics is $ 8, for Loft members it is $ 6 on loftcinema.org.

Not daring because of the Delta variant? Stream some of the 1980s movies shot right here in Tucson on your home TV. Can’t Buy Me Love, the teen comedy starring “McDreamy” himself, Patrick Dempsey, is available for free on Tubi or purchased to stream from a number of services including Amazon, Google Play and Vudu.

“Revenge of the Nerds,” filmed at multiple locations on the University of Arizona campus, is currently airing on the HBO Max subscription service.

Get Local News in Your Inbox!

[ad_2]