The Down the Rabbit Hole art market, held on Oct. 25, 2026, at the Willow River Park Pavilion, was aptly named. Here’s why.
Almost as soon as I arrived, a drag performer stepped onto a stage at the back of the hall.
They wore tight leather chaps, a bedazzled sombrero; their face obscured by a lace veil that framed their crimson lips.
Known as Nox Domina, they lip-synced to music, dancing on three-inch heels among more than 30 booths that sold all sorts of weird and gothic art. Donned in neon green, local Drag thing Shine Highflower, also performed.
Perhaps without realizing, Domina splayed out on the floor in front of a mirror for sale bearing the words “GAY PANIC.”
The performance left me feeling like Alice tumbling into a surreal dreamworld. But drag alone isn’t why I think Down the Rabbit Hole was a perfect name for the event.
The market was the vision of two fine arts students, Zo Harris and Rin Duckworth. It was their first time organizing anything like it.
“We just both said ‘psych!’ and we did it,” Duckworth said, dressed as their version of the White Rabbit.
Harris, wearing a skeleton onesie, said another motivation was to give queer and trans people space to belong and find community. They attracted 32 vendors, many queer and trans.
The organizers wanted to give back, too. They partnered with the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region to gather donations of money, food, warm clothing and hygiene products.
Asked about their stance on artificial intelligence, which has taken a chunk out of the creator economy, they suggested that it “die in a hole”. They were proud to promote artists with handmade goods and provide an environment free from corporate sponsorship.
“I admire what they’re doing for the community,” Christine Ayala, who runs a small art business called Simply Monday, said.
“I’m here because my values align with their values.”
Kit Stone, a Kitchener-based photographer and printmaker, echoed that sentiment. They also see the resurgence of crafts as a response to the proliferation of AI art.
“[The backlash to] artificial intelligence is bringing in a kind of second industrial revolution in the arts, the craftsman era,” they said.
So why do I think the Down the Rabbit Hole market was aptly named?
It’s not because it was a little offbeat, a little punk and a lot queer. Not because it was someone’s dream, either.
It’s because a group of artists and their fans managed to make a piece of their Wonderland—a place where inclusivity is paramount, art is human, survivors are supported, and judgment is met with a smile of defiance in the face of anyone who would tell another person how to live or love.
Real world: take notes.
Leave a Reply