‘Indie’ craft show to be held at Municipal Auditorium and in Bay Front Room and on Plaza De Santo Domingo in downtown Sarasota
Atomic Holiday Bazaar, Sarasota’s holiday “indie” craft show, will mark its 13th season on Saturday, Dec. 8, and Sunday, Dec. 9., featuring more than 200 makers, the organizers have announced.
The bazaar is held within the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium and the Bay Front Room, while the accompanying street fair is located on Plaza De Santo Domingo, the street between the Municipal Auditorium and the Sarasota Art Center.
When Atomic founder Adrien Lucas moved to Sarasota from Los Angeles, she “decided to bring a bit of L.A. with her by creating a show with outlandish colorful crafts and interesting people,” the release explains. Atomic launched in 2006, “showcasing 50 unconventional crafters who needed an affordable and welcoming venue to sell their unusual handmade wares,” the release adds. “By producing an alternative craft show for Sarasota’s hip shoppers, Atomic quickly grew into a Sarasota holiday shopping tradition,” the release says.
The show proved such a success that it expanded to a full weekend in 2007, the release points out. Then, in 2008, Atomic grew from the main auditorium to the Bay Front Room to accommodate the ever-growing number of talented applicants and dedicated shoppers. In 2015, Atomic expanded again, opening up its first street fair “and jumping on the trend of including a handful of delicious local Sarasota food trucks,” the release notes.
Atomic features a wide range of items — from screen-printed T-shirts to faux taxidermy to “upcycled everything” (for one example of “upcycled,” the release says, think of copper pipe that has been refitted into a desk lamp). Shoppers can find home décor items, clothing, jewelry, vintage clothing, kitschy jewelry, low-brow to elegant fine art, holiday cards, jams, jellies, “the best canned pickle selections ever,” one-of-a-kind baby clothing, humorous tchotchkes, ornaments, knits, catnip toys, doggie stuff, felted art, plants, “plushies” (unusual and humorous creatures), pop culture-graphic art posters, dark sentiments, body products, candles, “beachy vibe stuff,” ethnic Latin textiles, rock ’n’ roll edgy clothing, sweet little creations that make you sigh — “get the picture?” the release asks. “No artsy stone unturned, Atomic has something for all.”
Tote bags are passed out by the local roller derby league, the Bradentucky Bombers, “to the first 100 adult’ish humans who enter the main auditorium at the stroke of Noon,” the release points out. “Totes are screened with artwork created specifically for the show and are filled with vendor swag and coupons that may be used during Atomic,” the release says.
Admission to the main auditorium is $5 for adults; children 12 and under get in free to that room.
“On a budget? The Bay Front Room and street fair are free to enter,” the release adds.
Food trucks and the auditorium cantina will be open for hungry shoppers. Atomic content ranges from family-friendly to PG-rated adult content, the release explains.