I had the pleasure of attending The Atlanta Oddities and Curiosities Expo this past Saturday, Nov 16th. I’ve always had an affinity for the macabre, unusual and just plain odd. You’ll see everything from antique books on witchcraft to taxidermy flying unicorn bunnies at this show!
Vendors from all over the country came to set up shop at Americas Mart in Downtown Atlanta. I have to admit I was surprised at how packed the Expo was. My friends and I arrived around 1:30 and parking was a bit crazy (as is the way in Atlanta). Entry was easy, the line was not long at all, but as soon as we got in we found it was hard to see some of the tables because there were just so many people (also if you’re 5’4 and everyone in front of you is 6′-0 then it becomes really hard to see). We ended up doing the first two rows, then leaving to catch a late lunch at Tin Lizzy’s hoping the crowd would die down. That’s exactly what happened- around 4:00 pm we returned, belly’s full to continue our adventure.
I realized rather quickly that I follow quite a few of these vendor’s on Instagram, so as far as seeing “New” and “Highly Unusual” material or products there was not much in that arena. However, if you do not spend hours upon hours looking for weird shit like I do, then a lot of this may seem weird and unusual to you anyways.
I had the best time viewing the various taxidermy collections. Some taxidermy was very morbid and macabre. Some was very elegant and artistic. And others were just downright FUN. Like this cute little bobcat on skates. I can’t get over it!
I enjoy practicality of unusual items. While I would love to have a bobcat on wheels in my house, it’s just not practical. Especially since we’re downsizing for some time to travel the world in a camper. These tortoise brushes are exactly what I mean. Something useful, but unusual.
If you have time to visit next year, definitely check it out. Be prepared to spend $10 at the door for admission, another $10-$20 on parking (carpool if you can! That’s what we did and split the parking) and I would bring some extra money for food and drink as well spending money for all your unusual finds. There was some food at the expo like Hot Dogs, Pizza and Beer and Wine, but it did not look very appetizing 😉 There are plenty of places to eat within walking distance though!
Also, if you need help finding a place to park the app Parking Panda works great!
Overall, we had a great time at the Oddities and Curiosities Expo. We only saw one sideshow performance and it was so short. I would recommend trying to sign up early for the classes- if you are interested they do have taxidermy classes but they fill up really fast. I looked several months ahead and they were already sold out of tickets. Follow the expo at @OdditiesandCuriositiesExpo on Instagram for upcoming show dates!
