Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium, 400 E. State St., hosted its Halloween celebration on Saturday, Oct. 23. The day was full of fall-themed goodies and festive costumes. Alongside the fall-filled atmosphere, a spiritual aura filled the shop.
The event had treats such as cupcakes, cookies and all things pumpkin available upon arrival. The shop itself was full of art and goods made by local artists, including, but not limited to, jewelry, prints, mugs and all types of decorations.
Inside sat the “Henna Faerie” Penni AlZayer, alongside Tarot Reader Cynthia Turrentine. The two were open to walk-ins and were happily interacting with everyone who stopped by.
Autumn Watkins-Snow, an employee at Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium, was checking people out at the register and was excited for the event to happen due to all the hard work put into planning it.
Watkins-Snow said Kelly Lawrence, owner of Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium, had been wanting to do an event like this one since the shop opened in May 2021. It was important to Lawrence to celebrate this time of year, as Samhain is an important celebration in Athens, Watkins-Snow said.
The event had friends and family, or “chosen family,” stopping by throughout the day.
“All the people who come in are wonderful,” Watkins-Snow said. “We have a lot of great people here who are working to make it a great event.”
The spiritual aura carried itself outside with different activities in the parking lot. There was a massage booth hosted by massage therapists Wanda Pare and Kris Kaniecki Snow.
Right next to the massage booth, there was a vending booth. Nadine Borovicka, the vendor at the event, was selling her homemade scrunchies and polymer-clay octopus figurines.
Borovicka has some of her products in Lawrence’s shop and was happy to be able to support the shop through this event.
“It's pretty low-key, but we've had people in and out all day, but it's nice,” Borovicka said. “Inside the shop is even more fun.”
In the corner of the parking lot, beside Borovicka’s booth, there was the ancestor’s altar, made to honor those who have passed.
The altar was lit up by candles, and there was space for people to place pictures of their loved ones who have passed. There were also pieces of paper for people to write the names of their loved ones if they were not able to bring a photo or a piece of memorabilia.
The altar was a statement of remembrance and was an important aspect of the event for some people, like Raven Stratford-Wise, an attendee of the event.
Stratford-Wise brought her child to their first-ever Samhain at Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium and has been a regular customer at the shop even before the event. Stratford-Wise said she loves the shop and how comfortable and welcoming it is to all spiritualities.
The event was filled with different activities for all ages, and it was an opportunity for those of all spiritualities to join together and appreciate Samhain and the changing of the seasons.
“Everyone's welcome, and everyone's loved here,” Stratford-Wise said.
Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium is open Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and is constantly looking for ways to connect with local artists and residents in Athens.
