The Love Experience Is Coming to The Bazaar
- The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime
- 7 days ago
- 6 min read
A Big LOVE Pop-Up Market with the Gurus of Love
Love is doing a little more than floating in the air this February. It’s parking outside The Bazaar and inviting everyone in.
On Saturday, February 7th, we’re hosting The Love Experience, a Big LOVE Pop-Up market designed to celebrate connection in all its forms. Romantic love, self-love, friend love, dog love, community love. All of it counts here.
This isn’t your average Valentine’s event. There’s no pressure, no perfection, and no pretending. Just real people, good energy, meaningful conversations, flowers, treats, music, and moments that make you smile.
Meet the Gurus of Love
At the heart of this event are our Gurus of Love, two people who didn’t find love through a formula, but through living fully and honestly.
💗 Christin Lilly
Christin Lilly has been married for over 24 years, after dating her husband for just three and a half months. Yes, months. Their story alone is proof that love doesn’t follow rules, timelines, or logic.
Christin is the owner of Coral & Reef, a boutique in downtown Sarasota known for its good-vibes fashion and welcoming energy. Beyond great style, Coral & Reef has become a true community space. Christin regularly opens her shop for fun, creative events that bring people together, because connection has always been at the heart of what she does.
She’s also the creator of Where We Meet, a new docu-series centered on real-life stories that explores the meaning of a person's life experiences.
Christin’s philosophy is grounded in one core truth: You have to love yourself before you try to love someone else.
Her thinking mirrors the familiar wisdom of putting on your own oxygen mask first. You can’t show up for someone else if you haven’t taken care of yourself.
She’s seen love begin in all kinds of places. Christin knows couples who met at:
Bars
Churches
Dog groups
Wine tastings
Card games
You truly never know where love will find you.
Christin met her husband at a heavy metal rock concert, a three-day, two-night outdoor event. Their first date? By her own admission, the worst date she had ever been on. Not because of them, but because everything that could go wrong did.
It went so badly they agreed to go on a second date. She doesn’t even remember that one, which feels like the most honest love-story detail of all. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, they share life with three teenagers and three small dogs, which may be the truest test of lasting love.
Christin brings warmth, humor, lived experience, and zero judgment. She won’t sugarcoat things, but she’ll always be kind.
💙 Mark Klecka
If Christin represents trusting your heart, Mark Klecka represents learning the hard way and then laughing about it.
Mark will be the first to tell you that he has made every mistake in the relationship book. And every one of those missteps taught him something valuable. Those lessons, earned through trial, error, and reflection, eventually led him to match with what he calls the perfect individual.
Today, Mark has been married for three years to his very best friend, and he believes that’s the real secret to a lasting relationship. The honeymoon phase fades quickly, but friendship is what sticks. When your partner is your best friend first, the rest has room to grow.
Mark also admits, with full self-awareness, that he has a knack for giving great advice, even when he didn’t always follow his own. He jokes that he once married the wrong friend, and is eternally grateful that his second wife, the right one, happened to be the matron of honor at his first wedding. Life has a sense of humor, and Mark embraces it.
At the core of his philosophy is one non-negotiable truth:
Communication is everything.
Without it, there is no relationship.
He also offers at least one very specific piece of advice, learned through lived experience: never let your significant other talk you into adopting a 15-year-old cat that insists on sleeping directly on your face, clogging your nasal passages with black fur, leaving you sneezing all night, exhausted in the morning, and somehow waking up with more nose hair than you had the day before. Love is compromise, but boundaries matter.
Beyond relationships, Mark is deeply rooted in the Sarasota community. He is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty, a member of the Luxury Real Estate Guild, host of the Sarasota Street Talk podcast, co-publisher of Gulf Coast Magazine, and cofounder of the Florida Economic Club, Sarasota chapter. He’s also the creator and administrator of the I Love Downtown Sarasota (ILDS) Facebook group, which has grown to over 30,000 members and focuses on connecting people not just online, but in real life.
Mark brings honesty, humor, humility, and perspective to The Love Experience. His advice is real, his stories are memorable, and his intention is simple: to help people understand what works, what doesn’t, and why love is always worth trying again. 💙
They are here to offer free advice, whether you want help updating a dating app profile, talking through a relationship question, or just asking something you’ve been wondering for a long time.
They are funny. They are honest. And they genuinely want to help.
Love, Flowers, and a Vintage Truck
Because no love experience is complete without flowers, Sarasota Florist will be rolling in with their vintage flower truck, filled with beautiful blooms available for purchase. Whether you’re buying flowers for someone special or for yourself, this is the kind of detail that makes the day feel extra special.
What Makes This The Love Experience at The Bazaar
This event is packed with thoughtful, creative, and joy-filled offerings from incredible local vendors:
💌 Mira and her vintage typewriter: Mira will write you a custom love poem on her vintage typewriter. Any subject. Any kind of love. Romantic, funny, sentimental, or unexpected.
🐶 Doggie Kissing Booth: A sweet way to spread joy while raising money for Tenderheart Charities, a 501c dog rescue. Because dogs understand love better than most of us.
📸 Laura, local photographer: New to town and excited to meet the community, Laura will be offering on-the-spot photos or scheduling off-site sessions by appointment. Perfect for updated headshots, portraits, or just capturing the moment even if it's kissing a doggie!
💆♀️ Chair massages by Necal Lea: Because sometimes the most loving thing you can do is relax.
🫒 Connie’s Olive Oil: A favorite for food lovers and gift-givers alike.
💝 Great Joy Greeting: A unique and thoughtful selection of Valentine’s cards you won’t find anywhere else.
🍓 Morning Mist Acres: Delicious freeze-dried candy and strawberries that feel indulgent and fun.
✨ H & M Designer Jewelry: Sparkling pieces from Bert, part of The Bazaar Family isnide, that add just the right amount of shine.
And of Course, Food, Shopping & Live Music
Hamlet’s Eatery will be open and serving, and all the shops inside The Bazaar will be welcoming guests throughout the event.
We usually book our musicians way in advance, and this Saturday, was no exception. However, if we did plan this event with a musician in mind, it would have been none other than the incredible Suzanne Lucas. Adding to the magic, Suzanne Lucas will be performing live, bringing soulful tunes that make you want to linger a little longer. It’s the kind of music that pairs perfectly with flowers, laughter, and spontaneous conversations.
Why We’re Hosting The Love Experience
The Love Experience at The Bazaar is about more than Valentine’s Day. It’s about reminding people that love is layered, surprising, imperfect, and worth celebrating at every stage of life.
Come solo. Come with friends. Come with a date. Come with your dog. Come curious.
You never know where love might meet you. And as Christin says, love begins with loving yourself first. And what better way to do that than at The Bazaar, where we already love you. 💗
The Love Experience Details
Date: Saturday, Feb 7th
Time: 11am - 3pm
Location: The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave in Sarasota
Free to attend.
