During the first weekend of October, at the Colorado Convention Center, the Oddities and Curiosities Expo 2025 was hosted. The O&C Expo is, as stated from the official Denver convention website, “the largest internationally traveling oddities event showcasing hand-selected vendors, artists, and small businesses with all things weird.”
The merchandise sold has a wide variety, such as—yet not limited to—taxidermy, horror-themed decoration, animal skulls/bones, and handmade crafts. The official website states that it was founded in 2017 by Michelle and Tony Cozzaglio, with their main goal being to create a safe space for those who want to discover new and unconventional artists and meet new people, and provide a place where you can feel right at home, surrounded by people with similar interests.
Many varying vendors with different experiences came to sell their products and crafts. One such is Sherri Gibson, who sells hand-drawn prints, patches, and clothing items for the business she started, known as Slug Academy. She states, “I’ve been selling my artwork for about five years, professionally, but I’ve been doing this for ten years.” She specifically goes to Colorado’s conventions, having lived in Colorado Springs.
Another vendor—no stated business name, just the preferred nickname of “Gremlin”—sells wet specimens, dry preserved—which is also called “mummified”—animals, old medical tools, and, as stated by them, “anything deemed weird.” Experience-wise, they state, “I’ve been doing this for three years, but I’ve been doing online sales for longer. I’ve been traveling with the O&C for quite a while now. Not to every convention, but to a lot of them. About 20 or so.”
The Oddities and Curiosities Convention, while not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, is definitely an experience to go to. Every stall is meant to provoke an emotion, let it be discomfort or fascination. And this year did not disappoint, judging by the sights seen and the reactions elicited.