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The World Oddities Expo returns next month with peculiar pleasures and treasures

Whether it's taxidermy, contortionists, or quirky home decor, this "peculiar paradise" will have it all.

Performer Maki Roll sends sparks flying with a grinder act at a previous iteration of the World Oddities Expo, which moves into the Pennsylvania Convention Center on April 27th.
Performer Maki Roll sends sparks flying with a grinder act at a previous iteration of the World Oddities Expo, which moves into the Pennsylvania Convention Center on April 27th.Read morecourtesy of WOE

All things strange and bizarre are making their return to Center City next month at the World Oddities Expo.

The traveling festival, which brands itself as a “peculiar paradise where weird thrives,” is a one-day odyssey of rare trinkets, animal bones, and sideshow spectacle. The event returns to the Convention Center on April 27 at the from noon to 8 p.m.

The mind behind the expo is Adam Hutter, who organized the first event in Philly back in 2018. “It’s a peculiar paradise like no other,” Hutter told The Inquirer in 2023, when the event took place over two days. The expo, which moved to the Convention Center last year to accommodate growing crowds, also makes stops across the country.

The event will host live burlesque performances and pop-up tattoo parlors along with a selection of macabre art, jewelry, and home decor. There will be hands-on workshops on taxidermy, butterfly pinning, andowl pellet dissection, among others.

The lineup of performers has yet to be announced, but past events have had sword swallowers, glass walkers, and other circus acts.

Tickets start at $20 for a general pass that gives attendees access to the show floor, which will be filled with vendors, interactive entertainment, and performances. Guests 12 and under can enter for free.

Butterfly pinning and Victorian hair bouquet classes are $125 each. For $175, guests can learn how to taxidermy a rat and leave with a plaque adorned with a rodent’s head. The owl pellet dissection course costs $20.

For more information, visit woetothee.com.