Fans of the spiritual and paranormal world gathered together for an evening of fun and fortune in Alliston on Friday for the first ever Making Contact Event put on by CONTACT Community Services.
The event was held at the Mercer Pub located inside the Gibson Centre and featured tarot card readers, reiki practitioners, crystal healers, mediums, a cash bar and vendor market.
There were also two scheduled ghost walks throughout the building with Lori Kinrade of Netflix series, Paranormal Survivor.
Event organizer Jennifer Fleury, who is a ghost follower herself, said the fundraising idea came to her after trying to think of a fun, creative event that would be enjoyed by all.
“We were looking for really good fundraising ideas, things that were original and different, so I reached out to the spiritual community and friends, and this is what manifested,” she explained.
Fleury has always had a keen interest in paranormal activity and tarot cards. She has travelled all over North America and the United Kingdom in search of spirits.
“I don’t see them, but I feel them,” she said about ghosts.
The Gibson Centre itself was built in 1889 by the Mercer Manufacturing Company and according to Fleury is home to many spirits, but ‘they are happy to have us,' she said, noting that she didn’t have any weird or uncomfortable feelings when being inside the building.
When the event was posted online, tickets for the ghost walk quickly sold out, prompting her to add another tour for later in the evening. By Friday, both tours were sold out with some guests having to be turned away due to capacity restrictions.
“I am shocked and amazed,” she said about the popularity of the event.
“It’s the perfect time of the year for it, and people are very curious about what we can’t see, and I welcome that.”
All vendors and readers made a donation to the grand prize gift basket for one lucky guest to take home, as well as a contribution of their profits to the charity. Proceeds from the ticket and bar sales also went to the cause.
Many of the guests in attendance said they were curious about what the readers would have to say when sitting down with them face to face.
Couple Jane and Adam Lynch came to get their tarot cards read, speak to a medium and get a crystal ball reading.
“I tried it, it’s pretty interesting,” said Jane of her tarot card reading. “She (the reader) kind of left me wanting more.”
Adam said his visit with one of the mediums went well and was able to answer some of the questions he had.
“It’s comforting to be reunited with someone you are trying to talk to that’s passed,” he said.
CONTACT Community Services is a non-profit organization that helps people with housing, employment and volunteer opportunities.
They are affiliated with employment agency bradford WORKS, located at 95 Holland St. West near the downtown core and The Clothes Line community thrift store in Alliston.
The organization hosts various fundraisers throughout the year, with hopes of hosting another like this again next fall.
To learn more about CONTACT Community Services, visit their website here.
