Opossum Taxidermy Class Finally Finds Its Audience

Visitors to a Richmond convention spent part of their weekend learning opossum taxidermy, finally providing a respectable answer to the question of what one does after brunch.

The Oddities & Curiosities Expo returned to Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday and Sunday, bringing its bizarre bazaar to the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The two-day event, held over the weekend of 22 and 23 August 2026, offered a broad selection of objects not generally found beside the scented candles at a normal craft fair.

Among the attractions were weird collectibles, strange antiques, creepy clothing, original artwork, unique jewellery and spooky items. Visitors could inspect skulls and bones, handcrafted oddities and quack medical devices, thus covering death, craftsmanship and the long human tradition of purchasing something that almost certainly does not work.

Those wishing to leave with more than a slightly complicated new ornament could also attend classes. Opossum taxidermy was one option, while sunset moth entomology offered an alternative for anyone whose interests are unusual but on a more delicate scale.

Hundreds of vendors took part in the expo, with performers appearing on stage throughout the day. Between the stalls, classes and performances, Richmonders had ample opportunity to buy art, study insects and contemplate precisely where in the sitting room a skull might look least alarming.

Behind the collection of bones, moths and questionable medical equipment was a welcoming purpose. Participants said the exposition celebrated differences within the Richmond community, creating an environment where people with unconventional tastes could feel comfortable rather than obliged to explain themselves repeatedly.

“We really strive to provide a place where people feel at home and they feel like they could be themselves, whether they have colored hair or tattoos or they’re weird; it doesn’t matter,” said the expo’s creator, Michelle Cozzaglio. “This is a place for people to feel welcome and be able to buy art and just be themselves.”

That meant the weekend’s oddness was not merely arranged on tables. The event invited people to enjoy unusual interests openly, surrounded by others who were unlikely to blink at creepy clothing or a sudden discussion of opossum preservation.

The expo concluded after its Sunday programme at the convention centre. Attendees left with whatever art, jewellery, antiques, handcrafted oddities, anatomical pieces or dubious devices had caught their eye, along with the knowledge acquired in its specialist classes. What happens next is largely a matter between each visitor, their new purchase and anyone who opens the wrong cupboard.