The Goblin Market mixes commerce and roleplay for a unique evening where goblins cross over into our human realm! Goblins are known to be found of trinkets, and willing to trade or freely give away their finds. Many a local vendor had recommended this magical night to me, so I was glad to be part of it for the first time this year!
Time Travel Events is an Atlanta event coordinator team established circa 2018. While they originally focused on historical based events, they’ve expanded into hosting goblin themed markets, pot lucks, and dances. Other markets they’ve hosted include the Atlanta Cosplay Yard Sale and Georgia Indie Book Faire.
I got into the Goblin Market through their waitlist. I was contacted in December and told they were expanding their space with a large outdoor tent. Though it may be challenging to be outside the main event space, I wanted to give it a shot with all the good recommendations I’d heard from fellow local vendors. The tent would be provided with lighting, but I planned to bring my own portable lights as well.
Our venue was the IAM Local 709, a single-floor union building with a large event hall for the main vendors and plenty of parking lot for our outdoor tent. I wish I took the time to photograph the decorations Time Travel Events put up. There was a large rock-like archway to represent the divide between worlds, and a historical display of previous Goblin Market themes. Under the tent we had a seating area to enjoy food truck cuisine, a small stage for performers, and an ensemble of real mermaids! Entry for attendees would be $15 a person.
Load-in for the Goblin Market went smoothly. We were allowed to arrive as early as 12 pm and I was allowed to pull up right next to tent entrance. For $100, each of us were provided an 8 foot table, chairs, and 10×10 feet of space for us to do with as we liked. Since we’d be working the market all evening, Time Travel Events provided catering for dinner, tacos and desserts from Willy’s. I can’t recall the last time a whole meal was included in a booth price! We got to help ourselves until the food was cleaned up before opening. There was also wi-fi service provided for vendors, but I wasn’t able to connect my phone to it from the tent. Fortunately, I was able to make due with my cellular data to run Square POS.
The gates opened at 5 PM and it took about an hour for the crowd to settle into our tent. Sales were highest during 7 PM with a sharp drop off around 9 PM, which I think was probably due to the cold night air. I know even the Georgia Reptile Society across from me had to put their reptilian friends away early since they were getting sleepy from the cold. While our market was open until 10:30, by the final half hour just about most of the crowd had left. During the market I wondered if the traffic was different for the indoor vendors but I checked with my friends in the main hall and they reported similar experiences. I think it was helpful that our tent had additional attractions to bring in attendees and that the overall Goblin Market was small enough it wouldn’t be overwhelming to walk through the whole event.
Let me tell you though, the goblins were so much fun. Lots of people took the opportunity to dress up and don their ren faire attire, myself included! I got lots of complements on my dress with its skirt hikes. And it’s true what they say, there were many goblins interested in sharing trinkets. In our vendor information email our hosts assured us goblins would be told not all vendors would want to trade for their wares and to respect our wishes. And I’ll have to say every goblin I came across was very polite and asked if I’d like to trade first! By the end of the night, I had run out of the trinkets I’d brought to trade and filled my string-pouch with goodies.
Early in the evening, I did have someone pay for their purchase in Eisenhower silver dollars, so that was exciting. I may not still have the first dollar bill my business has ever made, but these are the first big ass silver dollars I’d ever received. Maybe I’ll make a display for them.
I was really happy to have brought my own lights, even got to experiment with these color shifting LEDs that my mom had gifted me. While the string lights provided in the tent did give a nice mystical mood they weren’t very reliable for lighting up merchandise. I have to wonder if the other outdoor vendors who didn’t bring their own lighting felt disappointed. Funny enough, midway through the market event staff brough in a higher power floor lamp and put it right next to my booth. I was perhaps the one who needed it least but next to the only power outlet ^__^;
Load-out was also a smooth experience, those of us in the outdoor tent even started to pack up a little early. Since parking was plentiful and nearby, it was easy enough to trek my wagon to my car in multiple trips.
Billie’s Vendor Rating
| Goblins | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐ |
Overall, I was satisfied with the Goblin Market, for a modest profit I had a fun time. It was refreshing to have event staff who were very kind and attendees who were enthusiastic about the goblin theme. I think it’s easy to see that Time Travel Events have cultivated a devoted following that’s special amongst Atlanta events.
I’ll admit I did come into the event perhaps expecting more busy sales, someone had described to me their last experience to be “non-stop sales all night”. It could be that their wares were a better fit, but I’d definitely like to keep future Time Travel Events markets on my “to apply” list!
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