Greetings Atomic Holiday Bazaar peeps and Creative Loafing readers, my name is Adrien Lucas, event producer for Atomic Holiday Bazaar. If you have not heard about Atomic Holiday Bazaar, consider this post a get-to-know-me entry. Future blog-ulations will include interviews with all of the Atomic misfits who will be selling their tasty crafty/artsy items at this year’s Atomic shows:
If you missed last Sunday’s Atomic Holiday Bazaar, get caught up thanks to event photog Daniel Perales, who snapped hundreds of shots at the event. If you attended, follow the jump regardless, and see if Perales captured the exact moment when you and your cash got separated:
— The lede in this morning’s Bradenton Herald: “If you’re expecting a Christmas gift from a college student this year, that gift may be as simple as an e-card, a hug and a smile, or, perhaps, nothing at all.” Why did they even add “this year”? Don’t college students normally stiff their family and friends? Maybe that’s just what I did in college.
— Joe Hendricks covers last week’s Rosemary Rising and, oh yeah, pops by the CL office for a look-see.
— Hannah Wallace is missing Atomic Holiday Bazaar again this year, and she ain’t happy about it. Me? I’d pretty much cancel anything to attend.
— Sarasota gets its very own YouTube O’Reilly Factor. Gulp. (By the way, for a conservative talk show, quite an, er, interesting choice of theme music.)
In 2006, Atomic Holiday Bazaar was a success story, a hip showcase for items crafted by independent artisans that found a Suncoast audience few knew even existed. By the time Atomic 2.0 rolled around last December, you could feel momentum building. Vendors jockeyed for months to book tables at the event; retailers snatched up locally made pieces to carry in their shops; the crowds grew bigger.
This year, the buzz around Atomic is deafening. Make no mistake. Atomic III, which goes down this weekend, is nothing short of a genuine Event.
“People are waiting for Atomic,” says Laura Daniel Gale, owner of the Rosemary District boutique everything but the girl. Her shop is one of a growing number of Sarasota retailers that carry merchandise by Atomic artisans. “Like, they’re not going to buy anything until they can get to Atomic,” Gale says. “They’re going to fill their list with stuff they get there, and then go out and maybe land here after that, ’cause they, really, they know what to expect now, so they want to wait and get it all there.”
Creative Loafing mentions Atomic Holiday Bazaar at every available opportunity, and today — the day after version 2.0 hit the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium — is no different. I just got word from Cemantha Crain, one of the event organizers, that her official count of patrons is 1,150. That number may only represent a small jump from last year’s attendence, but that’s nothing to frown about.
Crain writes in an email:
Everywhere I’ve been today (alright, I’ve only been to work and News and Books, but those count) everyone I’ve seen who went (prolly 10 people so far) all commented how many young people we had. My favorite New College barista said it was the most young people she’s ever seen in one place in Sarasota. That’s rewarding, considering our primary objective was to create a young-person’s event.
I was most delighted to see old friends who I’d thought had moved away.  I didn’t even think to invite them because I’d thought they had abandoned Sarasota long ago.  But they were back, and truly brought a tear to my eye that they’d found out about Atomic on their own and showed up without realizing Adrien and I were behind it.  That, and, I saw a few sets of punk rock teenagers skulking around sans adults.  They actually chose to attend of their own volition. Very cool, indeed.
This Sunday, Sarasota blows on up with the second annual Atomic Holiday Bazaar at the Municpal Auditorium. Funkstresses Cemantha Crain and Adrien Lucas comprise the brain-trust behind this thing, and clearly we’re into it: We’ve covered the alt-crafting bonanza here, here, and oh, here and here. But we’re not done. Not by a long shot.
Folks, this week’s episode of Sarasota Creative Loafing’s only podcast, W941, features Cooper Levey-Baker and his thoughts on, impressions of, feelings for, thesi concerning and moral objections to the Atomic Holiday Bazaar. Not listening? Not an option.
Atomic 2.0 goes down from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Photo, which we will absolutely never tire of, was taken by the illustrious Camille Pyatte in Dec. 2006. Oh, and please excuse our voice on the episode — we’re ill.
