Market for the Strange enters third year embracing weirdness

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).

When Kari Layman met fellow artist Yamen O’Donnell at an underground market in Salem, the two found a community of vendors who sell strange art and witchy things.

They realized the potential of creating an alternative market to provide them with a space for like-minded artists and customers to browse and be themselves.

“After the Covid restrictions lifted, we noticed the events were filling up a lot more. We thought, ‘There needs to be a bigger space for this community of artists here in Salem,’” O’Donnell said.

Layman started Market for the Strange in February 2023 with several other local artists. O’Donnell joined the team soon after.

They now host several events a year in Salem and surrounding cities have a pool of nearly 300 vendors. It is “a place where the unusual is welcome, where the odd ones fit in, and where visitors can walk away with a little bit of the unexpected,” according to their website. 

Market for the Strange returns to the Salem Convention Center Sunday, Feb. 16, for a “Lovecraft’s Library” event themed around literature.

At each market, visitors can buy artisanal products, learn about the work of local nonprofits, meet local writers and artists, and even get tattoos.

Layman and O’Donnell initially struggled to find a space to host their first market, and were concerned that not many people would attend. 

“Our first market was fairly small. We could only fit 27 vendors, there were pretty small booths and everybody was crammed in there,” Layman said. However, their initiative got immense support from the community. 

Market for the Strange was inspired in part by Market for the Beast, another alternative community market in Portland. “Market for the Beast was one of the first ones that I went to where I was like, ‘This is what I’m talking about,’” Layman said.

Market for the Strange helps local nonprofits serve their communities by offering them free booths at markets. One example is Punx with Purpose, another local organization built around punk music and alternative aesthetics. 

“We love the community that has grown up at our market. We see friends connecting, people dressing up. It’s a positive, healthy space for Salem, and it’s something that a lot of people need right now,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell writes poetry and creates fractal art under the artistic name Complicated Reality. Other vendors at Market for the Strange sell spooky dolls, decorations, candles and magicians’ equipment.

The market keeps improving each year to provide better opportunities to vendors and the best possible experience for visitors, they said.  

“We’re hoping for bigger and better things” at future markets, O’Donnell said. 

Sunday’s market will have 78 vendors and organizations, including tattoo artists and cake pop sellers, with “different surprises around every corner,” O’Donnell said. Visitors will also be able to participate in a literary scavenger hunt for a prize and meet independent authors from the Pacific Northwest.

The event will be at the Salem Convention Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and tickets can be purchased on their website for $5.

Visitors are encouraged but not required to wear costumes, and should expect “more of our weirdness,” Layman said.

Correction: This article originally misstated which organizers were involved in founding Market for the Strange. Salem Reporter apologizes for the error.

Contact reporter Alan Cohen: [email protected].

A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.