Last weekend at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh dove into the weird and unexpected world of oddities and magic.
From Feb. 28 through March 1, hundreds of booths lined the Convention Center for one thing only: to get weird.
The World Oddities Expo travels all through the U.S. and brings with it booths, live performers, food and mysteries.
The World Oddities Expo first started in 2017 in Tulsa, Okla. It was a small gathering of local artisans who shared a passion for the creepy and weird. It slowly grew over the years, and now travels all over the U.S., Canada and Australia.
The last time it came to Pittsburgh was in January of 2023.
The expo prides itself on hosting local artisans and performers as well as their famous Deformed Exhibition. It’s a small area where they house animals that have deformities, such as a cow with two heads. Most of it is taxidermy or casts of the real thing.
They also have information on human deformities that were historically paraded in circuses and other performances.
Among the booths there were various items, including taxidermy, gemstones, tarot readings and movie posters. There was also food provided by the convention center, along with tables where people could sit and watch the live performances.
Among the booths was Lauren Wenrich’s Grotesquerie, which sells handmade jewelry, keychains and accessories related to earthworms.
Another booth was Conjure Dust Designs, where Illustrator Danner Seyffer makes cryptid-related stickers, postcards and pictures. Dressed as a park ranger to get into the spirit of the expo, Seyffer said his catchphrase is “happy trails to you.”
Among the performers, one of the most notable was Mattzers Squidling, Onyx and Mackenzie Moltov in their Squidling Bro’s Sideshow Spectacular.
Moltov swallowed a balloon whole and put Onyx in a box where she had to contort herself to escape the “blades of torture.” The group is based in Philadelphia and was created by Squidling and Jelly Boy the Clown. They have traveled internationally.
Patrons of the event seemed intrigued.
Jekyll Wildasin is a student at California University of Pennsylvania and drove an hour and a half to come to Pittsburgh for the expo. She’s a first-year student studying fisheries and wildlife, and it was her first time attending this event.
“I think it’s really interesting,” Wildasin said. “I enjoy all the things offered…I would come here again, [but] I would definitely pre-plan my budget for the next time, as it is quite pricey here.”
The event has, of course, ended for Pittsburgh. Since the expo won’t announce the schedule until next year, Pittsburghers don’t know when it will return.
On the World Oddities Expo website, you can see the list of where it is heading in the US and the performers that will be there for each set. The expo also has an Instagram account of the same name that provides updates on the day of the expo.
