For the four years it was on, and the several years of reruns we got to enjoy, I always loved watching Discovery’s Oddities TV show, which followed the staff and antics of patrons of the Obscura Antiques & Oddities shoppe in Manhattan’s East Village. I have a love of antiques, and the grim and spooky and offbeat, and I’ve sadly never been able to make it to Obscura Antiques & Oddities (which has since closed their NYC location and shifted to online-only after the COVID-19 pandemic) so naturally when I heard about the World Oddities Expo, I made sure not to miss it!
The World Oddities Expo is apparently not the only oddities expo on the scene, but it was the first I heard about, and is one of two that visit semi-locally. The event itself wasn’t quite what I expected based on the website, but I was still very pleased - the WOE is more of a flea market than anything else. But when the vendors are offering posed taxidermy, embalming supplies, obsolete medical instruments, steampunk treasures, and relics of the spooky and supernatural, of course I’m in love.
See a few photos of some of the offerings - out of respect, I didn’t photograph everything I saw. At the end of the day, I had picked up a witchy gift for one of my best friends, an emerald green pinned butterfly in a frame for my own wall, and some smaller specimens in vials - the beginning of a collection I hope to slowly grow.
The World Oddities Expo visits the Baltimore-DC region at least once a year, and in 2025 will be here twice, and this isn’t counting other similar expos with many of the same vendors - I sadly was busy the day of 2024’s expo, but can’t wait to add to my collection in 2025!
