All That Is Creepy, Weird, Bizzare Featured At Oddities Expo In Tampa

TAMPA, FL — Lovers of the strange, unusual and bizarre are invited to explore quack medical devices, preserved specimens in jars and creepy clothing at the Oddities & Curiosities Expo on Saturday, Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Tampa Convention Center at 333 S Franklin St. in downtown Tampa.

The Oddities & Curiosities Expo showcases hand-selected vendors, dealers, artists and small businesses with all things weird: taxidermy, original artwork, horror-inspired pieces, antiques, handcrafted oddities, odd jewelry, skulls and bones, funeral collectibles and more. (All items are legal to own).

Featured this year, The Oddities Museum will present "The Cryptic Clown Collection of a Mad Clown."

Visitors will discover the cast-away remains of a clown and his unique collection. It seems that because of his unsavory interests, the clown was ostracized by the very carnival he loved. He was sentenced to a life of solitude, alone with only his hoard of cryptic creations. He burned in his own personal hell, a prisoner of his own making.

Bear witness to bizarre pieces of agony, magical powers, folklore and preserved death in the dimly lit remnants of a sideshow tent from years gone by. Weathered wood boxes cling to the perimeter of the tent. The ratty old entrance flap hangs, torn in the ghostly breeze. Skepticism takes a back seat to curiosity, and visitors take a step inside the tent lit by lanterns and candles to behold a collection of taxidermied pets, the remains of carnival animals (and patrons), and the remnants of a happy place now turned gray. Encounter terrifying beasts, like a real mermaid, a 6-foot man-eating chicken and genetically engineered monsters.

Tickets to see the Crypic Clown Collection are $5 in advance with an expo ticket and $7 at the door. Kids ages 5 and under will be admitted for free though the exhibit is not appropriate for all ages.

The expo will also feature a full-mount rabbit taxidermy class for $235 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students will create a full-body rabbit mount and experiment with powered pigments to turn their white rabbits pink or green and antlers available to turn them into jackalopes.

Expo tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door with kids ages 12 and under admitted for free.