The Brighton Bazaar began its 2026 season on Jan. 17 and 18 with more than 30 vendors providing comfort and community to residents and visitors alike, helping them enjoy “The Snug Life” – the theme of this season’s bazaar.

Shoppers strolled through the wintry temperatures in the Charles River Speedway on Western Avenue. Past the courtyard, they entered the Annex and Garage B, where vendors displayed a variety of wares, including crafts, vintage clothing, vinyl records, and board games.

Some customers are regulars at the Bazaar, like Kayleigh Barrucci of Brighton. “It’s cool to poke around to find something I haven’t seen before,” Barrucci said.

She said she visits the Bazaar every chance she can with her friends to “support small businesses, something I’m passionate about.”

Kayleigh said she bought a unicorn decoration to complement the 12 other works of art she acquired from her previous visits to the Bazaar over the past two years. Other customers were first-timers who appeared excited about what they could discover.

The Bazaar seems to foster a tight-knit community, which draws in vendors from beyond the local area, such as Jen Lamoureux of Pawtucket, RI, who sells hand-dyed yarn and crafted candles, and James Draper of Providence, RI, who sells vintage records. Both vendors cater to the artsy, eclectic crowd. Draper said he enjoys “showing vintage records that people may have never heard of and introducing a new generation to artists who may not be as well-known today.”

For Connor Collins of Brookline, they visit the Bazaar to make their rounds and browse vintage clothing and art. “I have my Bazaar family,” said Collins. “[The vendors] provide an environment where I can buy and talk about my favorite fandoms and updates in the community.”

Collins sat down to catch up with Jeremy Carbone of Champion City Vintage of Watertown and met up with the Kestrop Studio table to browse their art and reconnect.

The Bazaar’s community even inspires customers to become vendors themselves. Emily Ternynck of Somerville visited the Bazaar for years and in 2025, she began selling vintage clothing and shoes with her friend in her booth “Lady Luck.” Ternynck explained that “I’ve been thrifting since I was 12,” and the Bazaar helps her “practice sustainability and build community.”

She noted that the Bazaar’s vendor community helped her navigate the process of setting up her own shop to sell what she and her friend can thrift.

The Bazaar’s vendors even select where in the Charles River Speedway they want to set up to create the right mood for their business. Jessamy Kilcollins runs High-Energy Vintage. Tucked away in a room, away from the afternoon crowd, shoppers could find vintage video games, videocassettes and books.

“The Bazaar allows merchants to try out new concepts in this space,” she explained.

Kilcollins appreciated the space to allow her customers to carefully browse and pick out what they want to buy. Other merchants set up shop outdoors to sell baked goods, candles or cookware to shoppers, giving them a taste of what to expect when they enter the market halls.

Hygge (pronounced Hoo-guh), the concept of “taking time away from the daily rush, to be together with the people you care about…to relax and enjoy life’s quieter pleasures,” according to Denmark’s official website, was the theme of the first Bazaar of 2026. The Bazaar’s patrons and merchants reinforced the ideas of community and life’s pleasures against the backdrop of a snowy afternoon. The Bazaar attracted families with children and dogs, who took the time to enjoy the variety of foods, including Belgian waffles, curry and pizza, to help them re-energize, treat themselves, and stay warm on a wintry day.

The Bazaar ‘s next event will be “Dead of Winter,” full of “wicked, weird and witchy wares,” on Jan. 24 and 25, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at Charles River Speedway, 525 Western Ave. in Brighton. Visit https://linktr.ee/thebrightonbazaar for additional details.