The Last Huzzah for Freakery and Geekery
By Steph Skavinski
Looking for unique, quirky items for the fan of freakery and geekery in your life? Or maybe you are that person? Look no further than the Bizarre Bazaar, December 7 and 8 at the Baggage Building Arts Centre. It’s definitely not your gran’s church basement craft sale, and this is the last year you’ll have to take it in.
The idea for the Bizarre Bazaar came to Chris “Merk” Merkley a number of years ago when he was selling his wares at a craft market near the holiday season. He says it was a strange experience. “I make weird stuff,” he explains. “You had someone selling Christmas decorations on one side, and pottery on the other and I was the middle like ‘Would you like a zombie with that?’” Merk knew there had to be a better way to get makers of more unconventional art together.
At the Bizarre Bazaar, you’re sure to find all manner of makers, including folks selling prints, glasswork, jewelry, and inappropriate pottery to name a few. “It’s grown so much, from a one day event to now two,” says Merk, who made sure to coordinate with the organizers of other major holiday markets in the city to avoid clashing of dates, so you can hit them all (for example, Craftland at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, and the Craft Revival in Port Arthur).
For this, the final installment of the Bizarre Bazaar, Merk has recruited such awesome vendors as Black Mast, Cree Stevens, Dog Paw Pottery, boy Roland, Shaun Hedican, Gayle Buzzi, Jennifer Roukkula, and more. As always, Rose N Crantz will be on hand for all of your coffee needs while you browse. “We have Caring Hearts Cat Rescue and LU Radio, too,” says Merk. “LU Radio has their T-shirts and other merch, and these mystery packages of CDs wrapped in brown paper.” Take a chance on one—it’s like musical roulette while supporting a great cause. This year also marks the return of Metal Santa. Make a donation to the Christmas Cheer Fund and get your photo taken with the North Pole’s most hardcore inhabitant.
Both days have a slightly different line up of vendors. For more information and to view the full schedule go to Facebook.com/merkasylum, or search Christmas Bizarre Bazaar 6 – 2019 on Facebook.
