Halifax’s Museum for the Weird Comes to Life

If your idea of a good afternoon includes taxidermy, old objects, strange art and a little bit of the macabre, the Halifax Oddities and Curiosities Show has a very different kind of local outing. The recurring event brings together more than 120 vendors selling unusual pieces across steampunk, goth, horror and fantasy themes. It is organised by the Halifax Oddities Society, founded by Brandon Matheson, who describes the show as the biggest of its type east of Toronto.

The 2026 edition took place on Saturday, September 19, at the Halifax Exhibition Centre in Goodwood, N.S. It ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with C$10 cash admission and free parking. By early afternoon, around 3,000 people had already gone through the doors. Cash was useful beyond the entrance, too, since many vendors did not accept electronic payment. The next show is planned for a larger space on October 30, giving the event room to grow while keeping its market-style format.

Part of the appeal is the range of things on display. One table might have a magic lantern slide, a pin from the 1900s or an antique cigarette container; another might focus on skull-inspired woodwork, horror collectibles or handmade fantasy pieces. New Germany artist Adam Mack was among the exhibitors, creating wooden interpretations of animal skulls and other darker works. Special guest vendor Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark brought Undersea Oddities, a collection centred on marine curiosities, skeletal anatomy, shipwreck finds, restored diving equipment, folk art and books about Maritime marine life and Canadian sharks. That mix gives the show the feel of a temporary museum where almost everything is also available to take home.

The event is separate from Halifax’s waterfront museums, but it fits naturally into the city’s wider interest in unusual history and collected objects. At the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, at 1675 Lower Water Street, visitors can spend about two hours moving through exhibits on Titanic, the Halifax Explosion, shipwrecks, naval history and the region’s age of sail. The museum’s collection includes more than 30,000 objects, while the nearby CSS Acadia adds a preserved ship to the waterfront setting when it is open in summer and fall. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday on its current seasonal schedule, with Tuesday hours extending to 8 p.m.; admission is free on Tuesdays from 4 to 8 p.m. during community nights. Children can also use the English-and-French scavenger hunt.

For a longer afternoon, the museum connects easily with Halifax’s Harbourwalk, which follows the waterfront past historic buildings, public art, Pier 21 and working harbour views. The Oddities Show is more concentrated and market-like, while the Maritime Museum offers a slower look at objects tied to Halifax’s maritime past. Together, they show two different sides of the city’s fascination with things that are old, rare, unsettling or simply hard to find anywhere else.