OxfordPress.com

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Kem Moorer said two cold nights spent in IKEA West Chester's parking lot aren't all that bad.

"We've played board games, musical chairs, bingo," said the Roselawn resident, who sat at the head of a nearly 100-person-long line to enter the store when it opens 9 a.m. Wednesday.

"But I haven't been asleep yet," she added.

As Tuesday night grew dark, many IKEA line campers crawled into their tents or wrapped themselves in blankets and huddled around portable heaters that lined the store's entrance. Some watched movies in their tents, while others played cards at a folding table.

Maineville resident Katie Thielmeyer sat with a group of campers in a semi-circle of folding chairs and blankets. As she laughed with her newfound compatriots, she said the experience was slightly surreal.

"You know when you're sitting at the table, talking about food? We're right in line, talking about IKEA; it's weird," she said.

At 9 p.m., a line monitor came down the row that lined the front of the store.

"We're locked in," she said to the campers, letting them know that, from now until the doors opened, they would only be allowed out of line for short bathroom runs.

Security guard Rekeil Louissaid he was enjoying his eight-hour shift keeping order in the line.

"It's unique," he said of the concrete camp-out.

Fellow guard Robert Shelton said he was a little taken aback by the number of people willing to endure freezing temperatures for an $85 armchair and the chance at gift cards. He added, however, that the crowd was behaving admirably.

"It's a furniture store,"' he said. "It's not a rock concert."