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How odd! West Melbourne Oddities Festival celebrates the strange and unusual

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How odd! West Melbourne Oddities Festival celebrates the strange and unusual

Can’t wait to kick off the spooky season? The West Melbourne Oddities Festival on Sept. 1 highlights the strange and unusual.

By Maria Sonnenberg
 |  For FLORIDA TODAY

Expect the unexpected in West Melbourne when the Oddities Festival settles into the West Melbourne Community Park Splash Pad, 3000 Minton Rd., on Sunday, Sept. 1. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on that day, anything goes in terms of items to be gawked at and perhaps purchased.

Let’s say you’re in the market for some jewelry made from chain mail, or perhaps artwork that incorporates animal skulls. Maybe you have been looking for some vintage outfits to strut in style. You might be craving the company of a stuffed bat or a bunny or, if you are adventurous, a supposedly haunted doll. You might be certain that bug art is just what that empty wall space in the living room needs.

Whatever your itch may be, you are in luck, as long as your cravings are legal. You can probably scratch that itch and much more with the 100-plus vendors at the first iteration of what organizer Matt Gray hopes will be a regular event in Brevard.

Since he has received more than 4,000 responses to the festival’s Facebook presence, Gray expects plenty of people young and old to troop into the park to check out the merch and make an odd day of it. In fact, Gray is so confident that Space Coast residents are just hankering after the eccentric and the unusual that he has slated the second Oddities Festival for Sunday, Dec. 1.

“Our focus is to promote these unique businesses,” Gray said.

The West Melbourne event is the latest orchestration from the Ocala Oddities Marketplace. Apparently, there is an odd streak in Ocala. The town most people typically associate with well-hoofed horse farms also hosts a popular monthly market of the strange and unusual. The group also organizes regular festivals that caters to the college crowd in Gainesville, plus folks who reside in Inverness and Lake County.  

Admission is free to the Oddities Festival, which also includes food trucks, bounce houses and live music. Oh, why not engage in axe throwing while at the festival? If your life already brims with oddities, you might also consider joining the army of vendors. Space is still available.

For more information, visit facebook.com/events/1146167056398026. Things are going to be decidedly odd in West Melbourne, at least that day.

Whether you’re interested in music, theater, festivals or other local entertainment, FLORIDA TODAY has got you covered. Support local journalism by subscribing at Special Offers – USAToday Network.

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