Tomorrow, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Haus of Misfit business owner, long-time event organizer and proud Misfit, Jess Santos, is bringing the Misfit Night Market Before Christmas to TRU’s Campus Activity Centre (CAC).
Breaking a personal record of vendor collaborations, 75 makers and vendors will decorate their tables with “punk, nerdy [and] alternative” art pieces, said Santos, filling up CAC’s Grand Hall and Terrace Room.
This time around, fellow Misfits will not only be able to explore a variety of items made by local creators for the upcoming holiday, but will also get a deal at the last hour of the event from a total of 49 out of the 75 vendors. This is an addition Santos implemented this year, which they have now dubbed the Vulture Sale.
The items shoppers will be able to get include “records, patches, Indigenous bead-work, ceramics, art prints…” and it goes on.
Without excluding anyone, Santos said they were particularly excited about Scales and Bones, the big game taxidermist that had participated in last year’s market for the first time.
“They had really cute mouse ornaments with angel wings… just really bizarre.”
Though it may sound out of place to some readers, Santos explained that they always search for oddities to fill up the event—a fact that goes back to when Santos opened the Haus of Misfit at Tranquille Road in 2021.
Moving from Ontario in 2019 and having co-organized a punk-rock flea market for three years, Santos wanted to continue hosting similar events that didn’t fit into punk-rock alone. So, they created their own genre of witchy, spooky, punk, nerdy, alternative stuff and more.
“I want to celebrate our local weirdos, because I feel like Kamloops has a bit of a reputation of being a very blue-collar, conservative town.” Santos shared “But just under the surface there are wonderful weirdos in this city that are just waiting to get out there and connect with each other.”
Santos started hosting markets in Kamloops in 2020 with the Misfit Night Market, but since then they have collaborated with Downtown Kamloops for several large-scale markets, organized other seasonal markets in collaboration with local businesses; and of course, opened their own store.
“And you know: shop local, steal corporate,” they said between laughs.
Though Santos has changed the venue for the Misfit Market Before Christmas throughout the years, this is the second time the event is returning to TRU.
They decided to grace the campus again for a number of reasons—the provided tables and chairs, the accessibility, but more than anything, how spacious and well-designed the area is.
As a neurodiverse individual, Santos noticed how last year’s event felt a little too crowded; something that could make others in the neurodivergent community feel overwhelmed.
For that reason, the Rotunda will be kept vacant so, if needed, people will have a quiet, dim area to take a break.
“There is just this plain fact that a lot of creatives fall on the neurodivergent spectrum. I want to make sure they’re happy as well as the customers,” Santos said. “I want to try to have an event where people don’t necessarily need to mask.”
The Misfit called-out for volunteers for the event, and shared that St. John’s Ambulance and The Loops Sex Workers Association both have volunteers confirmed to offer support.
Santos is still looking for some volunteers to aid makers and vendors, and to meet and direct customers.
For more information about the event and vendors, check for live updates on the Misfit Night Market Instagram account as well as the Haus of Misfit Website.