Halloween: the most wonderful time of the “fear”. While anything pertaining to the creepy, kooky or macabre is usually in the limelight during the fall season, the Ocala Oddities Market makes it a goal to showcase all that and more, all year long.
On the third Friday of each month, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Ocala Downtown Market, vendors from all over the state of Florida gather to create a mystical oasis of extraordinary oddities for merchants and customers alike, who have a knack for the curious and the peculiar. The event, founded and organized by local DJ and emcee Matt Gray, has spent the last year expanding and growing the monthly market into the spooky spectacle it is today.
“So, I’m a big fan of Halloween, horror, unique or interesting things or the dark side of things,” said Gray. “About a year and a half ago, as we were approaching Halloween time, I’m like, ‘You know, it’s cool we can buy these things this time of year, but there’s not an outlet or an opportunity to purchase a lot of these things year-round.’”
Gray also noticed many artists and creators, including some friends of his, lacked a consistent market for their more peculiar products.
“They really only have the opportunity to sell during [October],” explained Gray, “so I said, ‘Hey, let’s create a space for these people. Let’s create an outlet, a market, a sales opportunity for the people that do the macabre, the scary, the dark, the different and people who are often not accepted by other markets or other forms of sales, and give them an outlet to do it.’”
The market’s first event was in October 2022 and, according to Gray, it was a huge success, bringing in over 3,000 visitors and selling out the next month’s vendor slots in just one night. Recently, the market has expanded to two other counties, Citrus and Lake County, and hopes to expand to areas such as Daytona Beach, Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
While the event is surely a sight to behold as a visitor, there are also ways to get involved. To students who want to embrace their craftier side: if you got it, “haunt” it! If you’ve been looking for ways to showcase and sell your crafts, whether it’s music, a visual art like pottery, sewing, crocheting and jewelry-making, or even hidden talents such as contortion or performance, the Oddities Market could be a perfect outlet for you. For many of the market’s entrepreneurs who started out here, the Oddities Market provides a safe, creative and accepting outlet for those who are interested in dipping their toes in the water and turning their hobby into a lifestyle.
The Oddities Market sees a lot of new vendors during its events, but also welcome back veterans who have been with the event since the beginning, such as Allison Doty of MorgueMade and Philomena Melton of Nocturna Flora. Doty is a local, as well as Florida’s only professional pet taxidermist, specializing in pet preservation and snake taxidermy. Melton specializes in insect and small taxidermy art, as well as encapsulated resin home decor and jewelry. While both specialize in similar art mediums, they both bring unique art to the table, further highlighting the diversity of the vendors at the Oddities Market and urging local students to embrace what makes them special.
“I’m very honored to be part of this community,” said Melton. “It’s a really cool community. It is absolutely worth being a vendor. I have never not once made my money back. I always come out good.
For vendors like Melton, however, the market offers more than just financial gain.
“The people here are just my people, you know what I mean?” she added. “I’m 33 years old. I finally found my niche – my group.”
Melton went on to provide some advice for prospective artisans.
“Something that I’m still working on is trying to stay consistent,” she shared. “I think [consistency] makes a really big difference with getting your name out there. … People have to continuously see you to realize that you’re serious about what you’re doing, so I think staying consistent about posting and putting your heart into it and staying passionate about what you’re doing. If you’re not passionate, then it’s probably going to fall short.”
Doty gave some additional examples of the many ways the market can be beneficial to the vendors who participate.
“Definitely jump into it,” said Doty. “You don’t know until you try something. This is a really affordable [market] to start out, and, even if you don’t make any sales the first time that you do it, you meet a lot of people and … you’ll have connections to meet other people that may be interested in your art. It really just spirals off of that. … People don’t realize how lucrative art can be, and you can make a good living doing this, so just jump right in.”
In addition to Melton’s personal experiences in being a vendor at the market, she elaborated about the ease of applying for a booth.
“The set-up process is pretty quick and easy and simple,” said Melton. “You just reach out to Matt personally or the Oddities Marketplace page or his personal Facebook page and directly message him. There’s an application form, but he’s really quick getting back to you. … It’s a really breezy process – very simple.”
Doty followed up by talking about the collaboration that the market and fellow vendors provide in helping each other to set up their booths.
“We are allowed to get here three hours before the show,” said Doty, “so you can drop your stuff off, and everyone’s here to help. They also have a team that will help you with carts or lifting anything heavy. … There’s food trucks, so there’s always something to eat, as well. Parking is really close. It’s right in the back.”
If you missed the previous markets, there are three more coming up within the next month. The Ocala market is scheduled for Jan. 19 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Ocala Downtown Market. The Inverness market will take place on Jan. 26 from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Citrus County Fair Grounds and Auditorium. The Lake County market will be on Jan. 28 from 12 to 5 p.m. at the Lake County Fair Grounds.
All events offer free parking and admission. Interested in being a part of the event? Contact Mr. Gray at 352-875-4224 or visit ocalaodditiesmarket.com.
