On Friday, Nov. 4, Student Activities hosted a Night Market located between the EC and Hoyt. From 8 p.m. to midnight, Drew students participated in a variety of fun activities centered around magic and the occult.
“The original concept for the event came from night markets that exist mainly in New York City, specifically the Queens Night Market, where it’s about bringing small businesses in the community together in order to highlight small businesses and highlight people, in this context, on campus,” said Eli Hatcher (’23), who organized the event. “It’s also influenced by Lunar Faire, which has been happening in New Jersey, which is sort of a traveling fair for occult and witchy stuff.”
One major attraction of the event was a spell jar making activity hosted by the Spell Jar Bar, a small business in New Jersey. Drew students filled small jars with crystals and herbs that carry various meanings. One such option was amethyst, which represents balance, comfort and spirituality and helps protect against negativity. After filling their jars, students lit the caps with candles whose colors also carry meaning. For instance, a red candle represents courage, strength and love.
“The purpose of this activity is to bottle up your intention. It is a low-energy form of spell craft,” said Kim Ferrara, who works for the Spell Jar Bar. “Basically, you’re bottling up all of the good stuff that you want, adding it to a jar, and then sealing it with another layer of color magic, as the colors all have their own meanings as well. When you’re done, you would put it somewhere that would remind you of your intention.”
Drew students also had the opportunity to seek guidance through tarot card readings conducted by Eme Brennan (‘25) and Drew alum Alyssa Sileo (C’ 22). Sileo has been doing tarot readings for two years, and this was her third time reading tarot for a Drew event.
Explaining the process of tarot, Sileo said, “I typically pull one card that I personally feel drawn to. I present it to the student. I read from the book the meaning of the card, and then I talk about the themes that the card has and how it might connect to someone in their life.”
Another popular activity was wand-making. Drew students used hot glue to design their wands and then decorated them using gemstones and paint. While painting her wand, Rachel Comfort (’23) said, “It makes me feel like a kid again, and it’s pretty awesome.”
The Night Market also featured a Magical Art Exchange and Magical Book Exchange where students could swap artwork and books, respectively. The book exchange focused on themes of the occult, spirituality and fantasy and included titles such as “Witches and Neighbors,” “Voodoo” and “The Wicca Bible.” The art exchange included a collection of bookmarks and rings meant to raise money for Drew student Andrew Reign Lora’s (‘24) top surgery.
Drew students could also take pictures with props in a photo booth, including a medieval helmet, swords and sunglasses. Hot chocolate and water were provided as refreshments throughout the event.
At 10 p.m., Student Activities announced Claryn Troup (‘23) and Kareena Salvi (‘23) as the winners of a giveaway for a drawing package and a painting package.
Overall, the Night Market was a truly magical event with entertaining activities that captured the spirit and appeal of the occult. Make sure to attend Drew Night Life’s next event, Mickey and Minnie’s Birthday, on Friday, Nov. 11 from 8 p.m. to midnight in Crawford Hall!
Featured photo courtesy of Dee Cohen
