COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL NOVEMBER 29, 2017 9A
Delight celebrates its 6th birthday with day of fun
By Eric Schucht
For The Sentinel
Therese Nguyen never would
have imagined her business
making it to its fi fth year anni-
versary, let alone it’s sixth. De-
light, the family owned anime
and game shop in downtown
Cottage Grove hosted several
activities on the Saturday after
Thanksgiving to commemorate
the occasion.
“I just wanted to have a cute
store on Main Street,” Nguyen
said. “I had no idea we’d be
here for six years.”
The celebration’s events were
meant to highlight the various
community activities the store
hosts. Nguyen said Delight is
meant to be a community gam-
ing space for all ages. Activities
included a cosplay and anime
meetup, trivia and card games,
professional yoyo player Will
Prater and Henna artist Vesta
Snyder in attendance. Sever-
al prize giveaways occurred
throughout the day. Prizes in-
cluded goody bags, promo
booster packs, and slime.
Delight carries various game
accessories, anime collectables,
and other unique gifts.
Store inventory includes col-
orful socks, small toys, journals,
keychains, plushies, pins and
cosplay wigs among many other
things. Candy, ice cream bars,
sodas, ramune, pocky, and other
treats can also be found on sale.
Nguyen said they sell novelties
in order to stand out in the area.
“It’s hard to make it in a small
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town, especially when you’re
competing with big box stuff,”
Nguyen said. “So we tried to get
unusual stuff.”
To kick off the celebration,
the fi rst 100 people who arrived
received cookies shaped as the
character catbus from the anime
fi lm My Neighbor Totoro. Fans
of Attack on Titan, Sailor Moon,
Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Sword
Art Online, Fairy Tail, Soul Eat-
er and many other animes are
sure to fi nd something in the
store to enjoy.
“I didn’t know if people in
Cottage Grove would like an-
ime, but it was a huge hit, “
Nguyen said.
On Nov. 2 the store launched
a Lego Robotics after school
program. Delights partnered
with Eugene Sudbury School,
Opal Center for Arts and Edu-
cation and Bohemia Elementa-
ry to provide the program. Us-
ing Lego Mindstorms EV3 kits
and software, kid’s grades 3rd
through 5th get the chance to
learn step by step programming.
The after school program runs
from 2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. every
Tuesday and Thursday through-
out the month of November.
The program takes a break for
the holidays for the month of
December and starts up again in
January.
As Delight is positioned in
a niche market, Nguyen said
they have to rely on the com-
munity for support. Nguyen
was able to receive an Oregon
Individual Account Grant from
Aprovecho, a local nonprofi t, to
help support the business. For
every dollar saved, the program
matches with a $3 grant, up to a
total of $9,000, lasting for a six
month to three year period.
But to Delight’s owners, the
business has never been about
raking in huge profi ts. Nguyen
said she just wanted a youth
friendly store on Main Street
that even her daughter could en-
joy. Many of the kids who visit-
ed Delight since it fi rst opened
have now grown up. Nguyen’s
enjoyed watching kids who
were once in middle school con-
tinued to visit the store as young
adults.
“It’s not about making mon-
ey. You do it because you care
about where you live. I got into
it to have a place in a small town
where people can have fun,”
Nguyen said.
Delight is located on 538 E
Main St. and open Tuesdays to
Fridays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
and Saturdays from 11a.m. to 6
p.m. Delight moved to its cur-
rent location a year ago in order
to have a larger space.
Tree
lighting
Sat.
Dec. 2
5 p.m.
7th &
Main
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Create a budget
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541.942.2471
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Dr. Bitner D.D.S., P.C.
350 Washington Ave • Cottage Grove
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541-942-7934
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Preventive and
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New Patients Welcome
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605 Jefferson Ave.
Cottage Grove
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
Emergency appts. available daily
New patients welcome
2 Hygienists available • Same friendly and caring staff
Please call for an appointment at 541-942-9171
Sponsored by
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Parent Teacher Club
Saturday, December 2nd
10am - 3pm
Cottage Grove
High School Cafetorium
Antiques, birdhouses, knitted/crocheted
handiwork, tie-dye, wood crafts, ceramics,
photography and much more.
Fill your belly with cookies, hotdogs, popcorn
or other goods from our food vendors
Get your picture taken with Santa
and perhaps a special guest!
Cottage Grove
Prospectors and Golddiggers
Presents
Benjamin R. Thornton, D.D.S., M.S.
Pharmacies
BI-MART Pharmacy
OPEN at 9am Mon. - Sat. • Convenient Walk-Up Window
100 Gateway Blvd. • 942-9107
To list your business
call us 541-942-3325
Dr. Snapp’s
Holiday Bazaar
Historic Dr. Snapp House
360 South River Road
Cottage Grove, OR
Looking for a special gift this holiday season?
Visit our historic Victorian house, enjoy our holiday
treats and browse among our sale items from .50 cents to $50
Friday, December 1
Saturday, December 2
Sunday, December 3
4:00pm to 8:00pm
10:00am to 8:00pm
11:00am to 3:00pm