The 50th Bizarre Bazaar is at the Richmond Raceway Complex through Dec. 7.
For 50 years, The Bizarre Bazaar has been an enchanting destination for Richmonders on the hunt for unique finds and festive goods as they complete their holiday gift lists. During the first weekend of December, the Richmond Raceway Complex is transformed into a shopping wonderland, with sellers carrying everything from jewelry and clothing to food and home goods.
Hosting more than 450 national and local exhibitors, the show has grown exponentially since Alice Siegel created The Bizarre Bazaar with her friends in 1975. Her daughter, Eliza Branch, took over as director in 2024. “When my mom started the show 50 years ago, she was really out there going to other shows and soliciting people to come,” Branch says. “And now, a lot of the vendors really come to us.”
The team at BizBaz (as the event is affectionately nicknamed) curates the show, ensuring each exhibitor fills a unique niche. Vendors sign a local noncompete clause to ensure their offerings won’t appear in other markets around Richmond.
Show Manager Buff Ramsey says some exhibitors have been with the Bazaar for over 40 years, including Richmond-based artist Eliza B. Askin, who offers drawings and illustrated calendars. With The Bizarre Bazaar also being a locally owned, women-run business, the organizers take great pride in connecting their sellers to a larger audience. “We create a giant event, but it boils down to those small businesses, which we couldn’t function without,” Ramsey says.
BizBaz also relies on nonprofit organizations such as teacher groups and garden clubs to assist exhibitors during the event, who in turn raise money for their causes. “It’s a nice way to kind of bring the community in and involve them in a way that benefits everybody,” Branch says. The show’s annual preview night raises money for different organizations, including Operation Healing Forces, which supports Special Operations Forces service members and veterans.
The event had over 25,000 shoppers during its five-day run last year, including the preview night. Many visitors travel from Washington, D.C., and the Newport News area. “I would say it’s really become a tradition for a lot of people,” Branch says. “You’ve got generations where you’ve got a grandmother, a mother and a daughter who all come to the show together.”
In celebration of the 50th anniversary, the BizBaz team has been posting throwback photos from the first show on their Instagram page. “We don’t even have to put the date,” Branch says. “You can just see the way that fashion and hairstyles have evolved to know that it’s definitely an old picture.”
The Bizarre Bazaar in the early 1990s
This year’s event will feature new decorations, bigger door prizes and a coffee truck to fuel a full day of shopping. The show is divided into four buildings: the boutique section, artists and crafters, new and returning, and new resources, which features only new exhibitors. Branch and Ramsey recommend bringing comfortable shoes and plenty of shopping bags.
The Christmas Collection is their largest show, but there’s also a spring market geared toward Easter and Mother’s Day.
“With the brick-and-mortar shops going away slowly and the shopping habits of the typical customer changing, the fact that we’re still here is really a testament to the dedication of the customer and that they find it as a fun way to get out and spend some time with their family and friends,” Ramsey says.
The Bizarre Bazaar Christmas Collection runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Richmond Raceway Complex. Tickets are $11 ($2.50 for ages 2 to 12).
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