This dog portrait – made from actual dog hair – was purchased at Ripley’s Bizarre Buying Bazaar in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – (July 14, 2014) Not sure what to do with that two-headed stuffed cow that’s been taking up space in the basement? Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has a solution for you.

Ripley’s Bizarre Buying Bazaar is coming to the Peoria Riverfront Museum on Friday, August 8 and Saturday, August 9 from 10 am to 6 pm. Peoria is the eighth stop on a road trip through the U.S. and Canada to find and acquire items worthy of being part of the world-famous Ripley’s Believe It or Not! collection.

Edward Meyer, Ripley’s VP of Exhibits and Archives, will review all items that come in and will make on-the-spot offers for items worthy of becoming Ripley’s Believe It or Not! exhibits. For more than 35 years, Meyer has traveled the world collecting unusual stories and unbelievable items for the company. He has acquired over 20,000 different museum artifacts, as well as countless stories for its cartoon and books.

 What is Ripley’s looking for at the Bizarre Buying Bazaar?

This thumb sculpture – made from decades of fingernail clippings – was recently purchased at Ripley’s Bizarre Buying Bazaar in Panama City Beach, Fla.

“We’re hoping to find oddities, artifacts, relics, strange things from science and nature, unusual artwork – the weirder the better,”
says Meyer.

Meyer has purchased more than 100 items from the public at Bizarre Buying Bazaar events – everything from a rare New Guinea widow’s finger chopper and a motorcycle created from cow, alligator and other animal bones, to a lamp made from a taxidermy chicken. Items offered but not purchased included a $400,000 Lamborghini and what may be a Stradivarius violin worth an estimated $2.5 million.

Even if Ripley’s doesn’t acquire an item, its owner may still get an oddpraisal ­– that means Meyer won’t necessarily tell people what an item is worth, but will give them an idea of how unusual it is.

“This is our first Bizarre Buying Bazaar held in the midwest, so I’m excited to see what kind of oddities we can find,” said Meyer.

Meyer will also give a lecture on the secrets of finding strange artifacts and the stories behind many of the items in the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! collection. His lecture takes place at 2 pm on Sunday, August 10, also at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

Oddity owners planning to attend the Bizarre Buying Bazaarare encouraged to RSVP to Angela Johnson at Johnson@ripleys.com in advance and provide some details on the item to allow Ripley’s research team the opportunity to see what they can find out about the particular item(s) of interest in advance.

The Bizarre Buying Bazaar will be held on Friday, August 8 and Saturday, August 9 from 10 am to 6 pm at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, located at 222 SW Washington Street.

Images of items purchased at Ripley’s Bizarre Buying Bazaar events are available on DropBox

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About Ripley Entertainment

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is part of the Ripley Entertainment Inc. (www.ripleys.com) family of worldwide attractions, the global leader in location-based entertainment. More than 12 million people visit its 90-plus attractions in 9 countries each year. In addition to its 31 Believe It or Not!Odditoriums, the Orlando, Florida-based company has publishing, licensing and broadcast divisions that oversee projects including the syndicated Believe It or Not! television show, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, that still runs daily in 42 countries. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada.

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