The chill of fall is in the air, and with fall comes all manner of Halloween themed events. On Saturday, September 20, the Khiva Shrine in downtown Amarillo plays host to one of these events, The Bizarre Bazaar. Featuring over 50 local vendors including soap makers, bakers, jewelers, psychic mediums, tarot readers, taxidermy artists, as well as a host of local food trucks, the Bizarre Bazaar has a little bit of something for everyone looking to get in the holiday spirit. HPPR sat down with event organizers Melissa Zoll, Jolene Barber and Melanie Eggleston to discuss the event and some of the causes they will be supporting. To hear the interview, click the link at the top of the page.
“Bizarre Bazaar this year is going to be the biggest one we've had yet. It's our third annual bazaar funding for our fourth annual Goth Prom. We have more than 50 local vendors of every kind of ilk, from soap makers, to crochet artists to incredible bakers that make unbelievable things that you can actually eat, potters, a psychic medium, as well as a tarot reader. Also, we are going to have Coffee Memorial Blood Center out taking blood donations.” said Zoll
Zoll continued, explaining “Our whole thing is we're not in it to make money. We're in it to make money to put on Goth Prom, and then we donate the proceeds from prom to a non-profit every year as well. So this is our main fundraiser, for us to be able to fund prom, to be able to raise money, which for this year will be ARFA. We're very excited about this year being indoors, in the air conditioning. And also, we have more vendors than we've ever had before. Bring your kids” Zoll says. “It's an all-ages free event, and there's trick-or-treating from booth to booth. They can put on their costumes, but they don't have to have a costume. We do ask, though, in all seriousness, respectfully, no clown costumes, clown masks, clown makeup or clown costumes, and that is for the safety of some people that have phobias.
When asked about the philanthropic aspect of the event, Eggleston explained that in addition to the concurrent blood drive, they will be accepting donations of reproductive and women’s health supplies that they will donate to Free Bleed, a charity that aims to provide things like tampons and condoms to college-aged students. “If you come to Bizarre Bazaar, please consider bringing either a package of pads or tampons and or maybe a box of condoms or something like that, so that we can share that with these nonprofits that we hold so dear to our hearts.”
The Bizarre Bazaar opens Saturday, September 20 at 4:00 PM and runs to 9:00 PM at The Khiva Shrine, 305 SE 5th Ave. in downtown Amarillo.
If you have an upcoming event you would like the public to be aware of, we encourage you to check out our community calendar! It's the place to visit for up-to-date information on what's coming up all across the High Plains!
