University Star

Those looking for a little magic in their lives this Halloween season are in luck.

Texas State’s Pagan Student Fellowship has joined The San Marcos Nature Center to put on the annual Creature Crawl Oct. 28 at 3 p.m.

The carnival will feature a wide variety of activities including storytelling, trick-or-treating, a plant sale, tarot card readings and tealeaf readings. Festival volunteers will be in costume and bring out some of the animals in the nature center for an up-close look.

There is a $2 donation to attend, which will go to support the nature center along with any sales made that day. About 200 people are expected to attend.

“All of this is to support the nature center and keep it running,” said Kenneth See, public relations officer for the Pagan Student Fellowship. “We will be asking for tips to help support the nature center.”

The organization’s Samhain ritual is set to take place right after the event. Pagan Student Fellowship President Stefan Sanchez described the ritual as “a festival in honor of the dead.” The event is one of the origins of Halloween itself.

“Samhain is the celebration that Halloween was based on,” said Heather McMaster, the organization’s treasurer. “It’s basically to celebrate and commemorate the dead and to honor the changing of the seasons.”

The event will also help the Pagan Student Fellowship achieve its goal of interacting with the community to increase the understanding of paganism. The group has been raising money through bake sales on campus in their efforts to support both paganism and the San Marcos Nature Center.

“Our goal is to foster healthy relationships with other organizations on campus,” See said. “What we are trying to do here at Texas State is to let people know what paganism is and that we are not a bunch of scary black-clad individuals running around cursing people.”