Cards read, poles danced
Mark Benton
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: News
The Anthropology Student Association and the LBCC Pagan Club hosted their annual Mystic Fair and Mayday celebration at the LAC Quad on Thursday, May 7.
The fair ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and included tarot readings and messages for a $3 contribution to the clubs. The fair kicked off with a Belly Dance performed by Alex Novotny and Kelley Richardson of the Ahlam dance group.
Adrian Novotny, adviser for the two student groups, coordinated the event.
"We sell tickets for $3 which allows [students] to get tarot … and palm readings," Novotny said.
Novotny said the fair was set to go on a week earlier, but, due to scheduling problems with other events, the fair got pushed back.
"It is usually closer to Mayday," Novotny said.
An old European folk dance called the Maypole dance also was performed. It featured a pole with colored ribbons.
"People dance around the pole, which symbolizes fertility, and they take a ribbon," Alex Novotny said.
Terry Reems, president of the Anthropology Student Association explained the Mayday celebration. "Mayday is the coming of spring," he said. The ritual looks at the rebirth of agriculture after winter and the celebration of fertility.
When asked about the contribution money, Reems said the money goes back to the clubs. "This is one of two fundraisers per year," he said. The money helps finance a yearly camping trip to Arizona.
Pagan Club President Juan Diaz read tarot to students free of charge. "I don't believe in Magic," Diaz said. "This is about the connection humans can achieve with the universe." Diaz believes that people can search for their own truth through the body's natural tools. "You gain a sensation through your body-it is there to guide you," Diaz said.
Photojournalism student Annalisa Cornell attended the fair. "I was raised in a Pagan household-all of this is very familiar to me," she said.
The fair ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and included tarot readings and messages for a $3 contribution to the clubs. The fair kicked off with a Belly Dance performed by Alex Novotny and Kelley Richardson of the Ahlam dance group.
Adrian Novotny, adviser for the two student groups, coordinated the event.
"We sell tickets for $3 which allows [students] to get tarot … and palm readings," Novotny said.
Novotny said the fair was set to go on a week earlier, but, due to scheduling problems with other events, the fair got pushed back.
"It is usually closer to Mayday," Novotny said.
An old European folk dance called the Maypole dance also was performed. It featured a pole with colored ribbons.
"People dance around the pole, which symbolizes fertility, and they take a ribbon," Alex Novotny said.
Terry Reems, president of the Anthropology Student Association explained the Mayday celebration. "Mayday is the coming of spring," he said. The ritual looks at the rebirth of agriculture after winter and the celebration of fertility.
When asked about the contribution money, Reems said the money goes back to the clubs. "This is one of two fundraisers per year," he said. The money helps finance a yearly camping trip to Arizona.
Pagan Club President Juan Diaz read tarot to students free of charge. "I don't believe in Magic," Diaz said. "This is about the connection humans can achieve with the universe." Diaz believes that people can search for their own truth through the body's natural tools. "You gain a sensation through your body-it is there to guide you," Diaz said.
Photojournalism student Annalisa Cornell attended the fair. "I was raised in a Pagan household-all of this is very familiar to me," she said.
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