Edward Brown, The Fort Worth Weekly
“[…]it’s refreshing to see an outlet whose vendors just want to sell cool shit and do not discriminate. Do these witches know how to cast a “don’t be a dick” spell?.”
“We’re witches. We make witchy shit. Lets hang out and sell our witchy shit.”
It all started with friendship. Brandi had been studying small business and spending her time supporting local artists and musicians for years in the Fort Worth part of DFW. She wanted to know where the witches were.
Witchy Bazaar was born from a whim, a spark of energy, and a Facebook group. Witches in Fort Worth, Texas were becoming more open with sharing their practices and chatting online. Many of whom made their own enchanting products. With a bit of luck, Brandi organized the first event for March 31, 2018 at the lady owned Tin Panther.
The original event had 12 vendors, a DJ, and a closing band. Brandi had no idea what she was doing outside of utilizing her yoga teacher skills and hoping for the best.
The FW Weekly put the event as a Top 5 Show
“The Tin Panther also has an event on Saturday afternoon: Witchy Bazaar, an occult-forward get-together brought to you by DFW Witchy Shit, which is a loosely organized group of people who are into tarot cards and crystals and burning sage when you move into a new apartment or end a toxic relationship and also maybe because they just like the smell. Music comes courtesy DJ Maria Glass and someone named Burnett, and food is for sale from Lazy Girl Goods. There are also ten local small business vendors. Hopefully one of them is a palm reader; I’d like to know that I’m on a better path than I was last year, or at least learn what the mole at the top of my heart line means. Probably something bad, right? Anyway, the event is free, and it goes from 3pm to 9pm.”
And that one enchanting weekend set the stage for a rapidly growing community.
Witchy Bazaar started as DFW Witchy Bazaar in association with DFW Witchy Shit. DFW Witchy Shit is a Facebook group Brandi was an original member and later become an admin for several years before stepping down. Witchy Bazaar completely separated itself from DFW Witchy Shit in July of 2018. The group does still exist and is rapidly growing in members daily! There is a mix of baby witches and well educated and everyone in-between. You can find and apply to the group through a quick Facebook search, as it is not a private group.
And we kept growing
Local Love
Witchy Bazaar makes a point to work with small businesses in the area. We want to support and spotlight those without a brick-and-mortar shop, musicians extending their reach, and artists of all types of modality. Events can vary from a full art show to a silent auction raising money for local charities.
Adapt and Grow
There was the wild summer at the now-defunct Hive in Fort Worth run by the guys at Keep Fort Worth Funky. This open space gave Witchy Bazaar a chance to stretch and grow. Witch pod-cast Witch Bitch Amateur Hour covered one of the events in the episode “Intention and Fehu” and is available for listening.
Witchy Bazaar was able to host two events at The Hive and are the largest events to-date with an astounding 40+ vendors, belly dancers, sold-out food trucks, 5+ volunteers and so much more. The Hive was voted Fort Worth Weekly’s Best of: People’s Places DIY Venue 2018 with a nod towards the festival by the publication.
Open To All
One thing will always remain true of Witchy Bazaar: the hope to offer a safe space to anyone wishing to learn and support the small business community of local witches. Witchy Bazaar supports BLM, LGTBQA+, and will not tolerate racism, bigotry, sexism, or anything that is unkind to others.
In 2018, Fort Worth Weekly published an article entitled “Spellbound” after speaking with Brandi and others about Witchy Bazaar and the community that was becoming more popular and mainstream in the DFW area. As more exposure takes place, Witchy Bazaar and Brandi hope to educate participants (as well as themselves!) on how to best support the community at large. It is important to use platforms to express support when witches have been the target of oppression as well as slander and lies for many years.
Do no harm. Take no shit.
Meet Brandi through the online spotlight website, Voyage Dallas.