蜜柚直播

A lot has happened since then. Those toys, cassettes, video games and other 鈥�80s relics you loved were sold off years ago by your parents, and technology has advanced to the point that you no longer have to get up or even move to change the channel on your television. You just ask Alexa to do it.

Still, like any pop culture artifacts from days gone by, they didn鈥檛 all end up in the landfill. Your childhood is alive and well on the streets of 蜜柚直播, waiting to be purchased, watched, listened to and played with.

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

Say yes to VHS

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

At 38 years old, Olivares is a child of the 鈥�80s. His early years were filled with simple pleasures; snacking on Fun Dip and catching the latest episodes of 鈥淭eenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.鈥�

Among his fondest memories was hitting the local video store with his family to rent VHS tapes for some evening entertainment.

鈥淭here was a Zip鈥檚 at Ajo and Mission,鈥� Olivares said. 鈥淩ight across from Kennedy Park. We would get our Little Caesars family dinner, go to Zip鈥檚 and rent 鈥楾he Goonies鈥� for the 15th time.鈥�

Olivares never lost his love for VHS tapes. Today he collects them. He watches titles from his vast library at his home office during his days off as manager of the on East Speedway.

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

The next VHS Bazaar will be held this Sunday, Sept. 19, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress, downtown, as part of the . It is free and open to the public.

Olivares said the VHS community is small but mighty in 蜜柚直播. You can expect maybe four to five vendors with hundreds of titles at the bazaar, some rare, some more common, as well as classic movies playing on the big screen.

For Olivares, the draw to VHS tapes is not the value, and there can be value. A factory sealed 1984 VHS copy of 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� sold on eBay just last month for $12,000.

He is in it for the love of the media. His titles of choice are horror films, movies like 鈥淐ritters鈥� and 鈥淭he Dungeonmaster.鈥� He picks up what he can at thrift stores and garage sales.

鈥淭hat nostalgic aspect sticks with a lot of us,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I see stuff, dollar signs don鈥檛 shine in my eyes. It is more like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 awesome. I鈥檝e never owned that. I鈥檝e always wanted that.鈥� 鈥�

Olivares keeps the bulk of his collection in his office, each one diligently rewound for future use.

鈥淭here is nothing worse than when you are ready to watch a movie and it is all the way at the end,鈥� he said.

Find out more about the VHS Bazaar at

All fun and games

Stroll through arcade chains, like , 1390 E. 蜜柚直播 Marketplace Blvd., and at Park Place, 5950 E. Broadway, and you鈥檒l find massive versions of classic video games from the early 1980s, titles like Galaga and Centipede, but on steroids.

But for the true old-school arcade experience with an adult twist, at the corner of East Congress and North Scott Avenue, downtown, is the place to be.

The gaming bar, a spinoff of the original Cobra Arcade Bar in Phoenix, comes packed with two floors of classic games from the 1980s and 鈥�90s.

鈥淲e have Tetris, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Rampage,鈥� said Richard French, general manager of Cobra鈥檚 蜜柚直播 location. 鈥淢iss Pac-Man is always busy when it is here.鈥�

Arcade games are regularly rotated in and out of Cobra to keep things interesting.

Also interesting: Cobra鈥檚 full bar, with its menu of cocktails named for characters from your favorite video games (would you prefer an Inky鈥檚 Drinky or a Princess Peach?)

When your joystick hands get tired, you can hang out with friends in the bar鈥檚 lounge-style seating or on the patio area that looks out on East Congress while DJs play every Wednesday-Sunday.

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

鈥淚 find a lot of people come in and have an idea of what they want to play before they even take a look around,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verybody has that story of the gas station or the laundromat in their town that had two arcade games. They want to play those games again.鈥�

For more information, visit

Vintage toy scene

Brick-and-mortar shops selling vintage toys are sprinkled throughout the Old Pueblo.

Some of the city鈥檚 most prominent establishments in the toy resale game include the long-running , 2602 N. Stone Ave., and , 404 N. Fourth Ave.

For the true 鈥�80s toy connoisseur looking for smoking deals on classic figures, there is only one place to hit on a Friday or Saturday night: the .

Once located on East Tanque Verde Road, the swap now calls 4100 S. Palo Verde home, and can pull in hundreds of dealers during the fall and spring seasons.

Anything and everything a 蜜柚直播an can unload can be found at the swap, but toys are a common sight, whether they are being sold by their original owners looking to make a few extra bucks, vintage dealers setting up on folding tables for the evening or regular sellers with permanent structures on the lot.

One of the more visually pleasing toy destinations at Tanque Verde is , located on the northeast side of the swap meet.

Thousands of toys and vintage items, many from the 1980s, including plastic lunchboxes with their matching Thermoses and Snork plush dolls, fill every inch of wall space, line shelves and decorate hollowed out arcade game cabinets within the space.

Husband-and-wife team Luther and Bonnie Jako go out of their way to make going into their building a wild ride.

鈥淚t adds to the fun and enjoyment,鈥� Luther Jako says. 鈥淚 am really big on the displays being as amazing as the things inside.鈥�

The Jakos don鈥檛 only focus on vintage toys.

鈥淲e try not to be biased,鈥� Luther Jako said. 鈥淲e are not kids ourselves, so we don鈥檛 really know about anime or the latest trends. We think all toys are cool. Whatever people are into, we try to stock it.鈥�

But they do make sure to have their fair share of the older stuff.

鈥淣ostalgia makes everybody happy鈥� Luther said. 鈥淎nd everything old is new again and cool. There are 5-year-olds that know things that we grew up on.鈥�

The Jakos even make their own custom toys, using bits and pieces from broken action figures that they find at the swap meet, on Facebook Marketplace or even take as trade from regular customers.

Both create, but Bonnie says Luther can really get into the process.

鈥淗e drills into their heads, uses epoxies,鈥� Bonnie Jako said. 鈥淗e has made up to 30 custom toys in a week.鈥�

In the long term, the Jakos plan to hopefully expand their vintage and custom toy empire to a second location in 蜜柚直播. Luther Jako also hopes to one day open his own arcade in town.

For now, they are happy watching kids, families and toy collectors, marvel at and pick through their displays.

鈥淲e blend it all together because we want people to treasure hunt,鈥� Luther said. 鈥淭hat is part of the fun of Tanque Verde. Being rewarded for looking really hard.鈥�

Follow El Haberdashery @ on Instagram or on Facebook.

Classic films on the big screen

If you鈥檙e VHS player is broken, or you haven鈥檛 owned one since George H.W. Bush was president, you can always catch some classic 鈥�80s films at , 3233 E. Speedway.

The independent movie house鈥檚 Cult Classic series has featured a recent run of flicks from the 1980s. Last week it was 鈥淗oward the Duck.鈥� This Friday, Sept. 17, and Saturday, Sept. 18, it will be screening the 1986 John Carpenter action movie, 鈥淏ig Trouble in Little China,鈥� starring Kurt Russell.

Swing through on Sept. 24, 25 or 30 and catch David Lynch鈥檚 1984 adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel 鈥淒une鈥� before the remake comes out in October. Cult Classics are $8 general admission, $6 for Loft members at .

Not up for venturing out yet, due to the delta variant? Stream some 1980s movies that were filmed right here in 蜜柚直播 on your television at home. 鈥淐an鈥檛 Buy Me Love,鈥� the teen comedy starring 鈥淢cDreamy鈥� himself, Patrick Dempsey, can be seen for free on Tubi or purchased to stream on a number of services, including Amazon, Google Play and Vudu.

鈥淩evenge of the Nerds,鈥� filmed in several locations on the University of 蜜柚直播 campus, can currently be seen on the subscription service HBO Max.