'Something weird for everyone': What to expect at the oddities convention coming to Boston

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Michelle Cozzaglio has an odd hobby.

“I’m intrigued with old paper,” said Cozzaglio.

Over the last 10 years, she has amassed thousands of pieces of vintage postcards, old Victorian trade cards and letters, specifically up to 1920. Cozzaglio says the window into what people were saying in private to each other over a century ago feels like she's "seeing a more personal side of history.”

It wasn’t exactly easy to meet people who shared her interest in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, however. That’s why Cozzaglio and her husband, Tony, decided they’d organize a convention for collectors of all kinds of oddities — everything from ephemera to antiques to animal bones. The first Oddities and Curiosities Expo, put on by the couple, hit Tulsa in 2017.

Suddenly, it wasn't so hard to find like-minded enthusiasts.

“It just exploded,” said Cozzaglio. This year, the Oddities and Curiosities Expo will tumble through nearly 30 cities across the U.S. and Canada — including Boston, for the first time ever, next weekend, May 17 and 18. The event has drawn a minimum of 10,000 attendees in each city over its two-day run, according to Cozzaglio.

I recently spoke with Cozzaglio to learn a little more about what visitors can expect to see at the expo's debut at the Hynes Convention Center.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Hanna Ali: What sort of “oddities” will be on display at the Expo?

Michelle Cozzaglio: "We have something weird for everyone. You'll see items like taxidermy, original art, goth clothing, antiquities and vintage clothing, jewelry made from bones and Barbie doll heads. Everything on the spectrum of 'strange and unusual.' If you like Halloween, you’re definitely gonna find something you love there. [Visitors] usually stay about an hour and a half to three hours, shopping with the 200-plus vendors we have."

HA: Not to corner you, but what kind of bones?

MC: "We have different kinds of animal bones. You can find small bones, little vertebrae, skulls — it's really all over the map as far as animal bones go.

HA: What brings you to Boston for the first time? 

MC:  "People have been telling us to come here for years, so I'm so excited to be here. [The expo] brings the community together in each city that we go to. And we try to provide an experience, you know? Visitors stay all day, and they meet all kinds of people like them from the area. They meet people they've been friends with on social media for a long time. It’s so much more than shopping."

HA: What else can visitors to the expo expect?

MC: "You can also catch sideshow entertainment onstage every 30 minutes. We’ll have StarFire Entertainment and Madd Hatters Circus Sideshow — and they swallow swords, walk on glass, do all the crazy juggling with knives. There's classes involved as well, so if you're interested in learning entomology, you can learn to pin your own beetle or spider, or learn the basics of taxidermy by making your own awesome, mythical jackalope." [Editor's note: The jackalope-making class is currently sold out, but you can still get tickets for a Sunday session on insect mounting.] 

HA: And what’s the vibe like? 

MC: "It’s a very open and inclusive place. And we try to provide an environment where people feel comfortable being themselves. People who come to [the expo] know, ‘this is a place where I can come, I can dress how I want, I can truly be who I am.’  Younger kids come and see older people that are just like them — with colored hair, or they're interested in learning taxidermy or they're aspiring artists or something. It’s amazing. The most important thing to me about the show is providing a place like that for people. So, come with an open mind."

HA: What's the most surprising thing you've seen at the expo?

MC: "I have a hard time answering that one, because I see so many amazing things! I always love seeing genuine two-headed preserved specimens or taxidermy because that's definitely not something you see everyday."

HA: If I miss this year’s expo, where can I find details on your next show?

MC: " Our website is the best place to see a full schedule, get tickets, find class info, everything. We plan on returning [to Boston] again in 2026. We announce our dates for the next year every Halloween."

P.S. — The Oddities and Curiosities Expo says everything sold at their convention is legal to own. But like many things, the oddities market does have a dark side. Fans of the macabre can take a closer look in Last Seen: Postmortem, a podcast from WBUR’s Ally Jarmanning about the stolen bodies of Harvard and the gray market for human remains.