Here are some of the people who waited hours for Ikea to open

They arrived 15 hours early.

For Keith Parker and Amy Sutherland, the lure of Ikeagift cards was too sweet to pass up.

The couple was the first in line as the Swedish furniture giant opened its doors in Dartmouth, N.S.,the company'sonly store in Atlantic Canada. The company handed out coupons to the first 300 people in line, and everyone in the lineup was eligible for draws for a $1,000 gift cards.

Parker and Sutherland were hoping that by middayWednesday, they'dhave enough to fill their first apartment.

'It's just for fun'

"I actually just moved to Nova Scotia a week ago," said Sutherlandon Tuesday afternoon. "We've never done anything like this before. So, it's just for fun."

"We got some snacks, extra clothes," said Parker."It's going to be nice and warmtonightso we don't need anything too crazy. I don't know if we're going to sleep or not."

Buzz has been building for weeks about the return of Ikea to the Halifax area, and the opening of the big yellow and blue building has some people in a frenzy.

More than 3,500 people applied for the 300 jobs at the store. And thousands lined up many overnight in anticipationof the store's 9 a.m. grand opening.

Addy Frencharrived Tuesdaynight around 10 p.m. and slept on the ground for three hours. She fondly remembers playing in Ikea'sball pit when she was a kid.

"I'm here for the meatballs but I also really want lamps," she said.

After a ribbon cutting and speech by Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, shoppers streamed through the building's glass front doors, greeted by staff in yellow shirts banging thundersticks and offering high-fives.

Sherry Elliott arrived a little after 5 a.m. said she's a bit of a contradiction when it comes to the debate between shopping local and at big-box stores.

"I definitely support local but I think that you have to have the balance between big business and small business and I don't think Ikea arrived here to try and push out small business," she said.

Denice Fillmoreleft her home in Debertataround 3:30 a.m. and picked up Evelyn Bokma from Shubenacadie on the way.

"I know people that are coming later today, coming over the next few days," said Fillmore.

"I have family in New Brunswick and I'm sure they're going to be coming up for the weekend to shop," said Bokma."We're always up for an adventure."

Robin Isaac and JoellMajeauwere celebrating Majeau's40thbirthday in New York but decided to cut their trip short to line up for Ikea's grand opening Wednesday morning.

"I'm so excited.I'm so excited,"said Isaac. "Finally, Ikea's come back to Dartmouth. It's a good thing for us the jobs, everything. And we get to shop. How exciting."

Isaacsaid she usually shops at Ikea south of the border but now that there's a location seven minutes from home, her money's going to stay in Canada.

Return of the giant

But not everyone is thrilledabout Ikea's return.Some have voiced concerns about the effect on local retailers and furniture-makers.

Dartmouth was home to the first Ikea in North America, but it closed in 1988 because of sluggish sales.

Now it's back with a 330,000-square-foot storecomplete with solar panels on the roof, geothermal heatingand a recycling program for batteries and lightbulbs.

"It's good that they came back.It's a student city and Ikea usually has pretty reasonably priced furniture," said Parker.

Planning for months

A team from head office in Burlington, Ont., was in the city to help orchestrate the big event.

"We have a team that has been planning for months with local officials to keep traffic moving on opening day," said Sue Coulet, the store manager.

The Ikea team tookthe lead on traffic, withHalifax Regional Policeprovidingsupport.

Extra police officers werehand for crowd control.

While the store isn't running any shuttles out to Dartmouth Crossing, it hasn't ruled out that option in the future.

"If we find there is a need from the market, we would certainly consider the option," the company said in a statement.