SAT & SUN: 11:00AM – 7:00 PM*
*VIP early access starts at 10:00 AM
The World Oddities Expo is a traveling oddities festival- a peculiar paradise where weird thrives! We pride ourselves on being an all inclusive artisan and small business fueled mega-convention. We feature artists, vendors, performers, educators, and guest speakers to create a macabre and magical experience for all!
Shop our showroom floor packed with peculiar pleasures and treasures from artists and small businesses. You’ll find everything in the Lost Curio Marketplace from taxidermy, insects, macabre art, jewelry, home decor, and more!
Visit our Oddity Ink Parlour, partnered with the infamous Villain Arts, bringing you talented tattoo artists from all over the land for tattoos on-site! Sign up for a hands-on workshop at WOE Labs! Learn something new from professionals in the field, regardless of your skill level. Listen to guest speakers at WOE Theater showcase their vast knowledge on a variety of interesting topics! Watch and indulge in mind-blowing Live Entertainment! Enjoy music performances, live painting, burlesque, and more!
General Admission Tickets – $20: Our not so general admission ticket includes access to our show floor where you will find all of
our vendors, our stage filled with a variety of amazing performers varying from city to city and our WOE Theater that features guest presenters and unique speakers.*
VIP: Exclusive Early Access – $25: VIP admission is for patrons that want to hit the show floor an hour early! Want to snag those
special gifts and unique wares before the crowd? This is the ticket for you.*
* = Accompanying children 12 and under free admission. Tickets are Non Refundable. Access to the show floor including vendors, ambient/interactive entertainment, and main stage performances.
Come one, come all and see The De•Formed Exhibit at World Oddities Expo! Witness REAL ethically sourced, animal anomalies! Feast your eye(s) on these naturally occurring anatomical wonders!
🧠✨ Science meets magic at this traveling exhibit you HAVE to see to believe! Don’t miss this once in a lifetime experience at WOE! 🔎🫵
General Admission and De•Formed Exhibit Bundle ($25) – All of the perks of our general admission ticket including access to our huge vendor show floor, world-class performers, and our guest presenters, as well as a ticket to a unique walkthrough exhibit featuring real congenital anomalies!
VIP Admission and De•Formed Exhibit Bundle ($30) – Gain access to the event an hour before doors open! You’ll have a chance to peruse our huge vendor show floor before the crowds, as well as a ticket to a unique walkthrough exhibit featuring real congenital anomalies!
Butterfly Pinning Class (+$125): A must try for all insect lovers! This class will teach you all the steps to pinning a butterfly! You’ll learn the basics then mount your butterfly in a beautiful shadow box! This is a fun and easy class and you’ll leave with a new skill for life! All supplies included!
Diorama Terrarium Workshop (+$40): Create your own diorama terrarium in this workshop! You’ll curate a beautiful and peculiar miniature cloche dome, filled with your choice of dried flowers, insects, bones and more! Create a tiny wonder to take home and cherish! All supplies included!
Owl Pellet Dissection Class (+$20): Learn about owls’ eating habits by dissecting an owl pellet! In this all ages class, you’ll find everything from teeth, claws, and bones! You’ll identify your various findings- then take home everything you find in your pellet!
Rat Taxidermy – Full Body (+$250): Learn how to do a full rat taxidermy! This class covers all the basics and then some! Whether you’re a beginner or an enthusiast- this class is perfect for all levels! Our talented instructor will guide you through the detail work and mounting your animal’s face (all skills you can take home and use for future taxidermy endeavors!) This class runs at about three hours, so make sure you plan time to explore the full expo and even sign up for another class!
Bunnicorn Taxidermy (+$300): Create your own Bunnicorn! Our talented instructors provide everything you need to make your own unique creation from start to finish in this hands-on workshop. Learn how to mount a responsibly sourced rabbit head and choose your own vision using 3D printed horn to bring your creation to life!
Rat Skeleton Articulation 101 (+$275): Join Gregg of Gregg’s Bone shop in a unique class offering students 16 years and older the opportunity to learn the steps needed to successfully piece back together the full clean skeleton of an adult rat. Students will be using super glue so be careful of what clothing you have on if you drip glue on yourself. All supplies will be provided along with black wood bases for all skeletons!
Opened in the fall of 2004 (as Hy-Vee Hall), EMC Expo Center is the state’s largest exhibit hall with 100,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 10,560 square foot Junior Ballroom, and eight breakout meeting rooms. The exhibit hall is connected to an additional 50,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space in the Community Choice Convention Center. In 2024, EMC Expo Center received a refresh with new paint, carpet, and renovation of a 10,560 square foot Junior Ballroom, which offers a modern and elegant setting, perfect for corporate meetings, social gatherings, and special events.
For a full venue directory and amenities of the IEC, click here.
The IEC is comprised of multiple event venues. The WOE show will be in Hall C on level 2 view details here.
Want to find the best parking for your visit to the Iowa Events Center?
Get a taste of Des Moines, with various restaurants around the venue! Click here for a filtered google map around the area.
Staying in IOWA, for a while and looking for things to dear near WOE? Click here for a filtered google map listing things nearby!
Looking for local shops and stops within walking distance of WOE? Click here for a filtered google walking map.
