Earlier this year a quirky, popular sign was stolen off of Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions.
Declaring "This is not a cult," the sign was a fun bit, created as a joke by owner Cam Bogue stemming from when the location was under renovations. It quickly became iconic in the neighbourhood with people stopping to read the fine print (which offers a bit of history) and taking photos with it.
"We get a lot of comments and a lot of buzz about the sign, but it really was about us being cheap," explains Bogue, noting it was because they weren't paying to have the building wrapped up and closed off, so they put a sign up.
Then he modified the sign with a fake stop work order, which many thought was real, and things snowballed.
When Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions opened, the "This is not a cult" sign was hung at the entrance.
The sign was taken off the front of the restaurant at 67 W 6th Ave. in the middle of service one day in January. It disappeared for months.
Until late April.
A mysterious email
That's when an anonymous email arrived in Bogue's inbox (and V.I.A.'s, as well).
'We have the sign," read the short email from the anonymous sign-nappers, who call themselves "The Cult."
"If the community donates $200 to BC Children's Hospital it will be returned."
When he saw the email, Bogue said he thought it was pretty amusing.
"I for sure just belly laughed," he tells V.I.A. "And said 'you gotta be kidding me.'"
Then he decided to up the ante.
Bidders over bitter
He'd recently had a new sign given to him by a local sign maker and engineered a more substantial fastening system.
"I found a smarter way to attach it," Bogue says. "It's not just tape; it's stronger than last time."
He decided to pitch a community auction for the kidnapped sign, in an effort to raise more money for the hospital.
The impromptu fundraiser is happening on a Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions Instagram post.
The opening bid was $200. As of publication, the top bid is $300.
Bidding ends on Friday, May 17 at noon.
"The offer was pretty low," he says. "It'd be neat if we can get money for charity for this."
He explains the business will line up the donation and then "The Cult" will deliver the sign to the winner. This way more money may be raised, a bit more fun can be had, and then he "doesn't have to deal with the enemy," he says.
"We'd rather keep their anonymity," he says of the sign's hostage-takers. "They did steal from us, but I'm also not a rat, not a narc; I think it's all pretty funny."
