Dozens seek to get in touch with spiritual side at Frederick psychic fair
May 16—Lauren Przybyl thought Helen Sipes would be mad at her the first time they met.
She had good reason to be. Earlier that day at preschool, Przybyl's daughter, Alexandra, had punched Sipes's daughter, Sidney, in the stomach.
But Sipes wasn't angry.
"She probably needed it," Sipes said. "It was probably her fault anyway."
Almost a decade later, Alexandra and Sidney laughed underneath a large tent set up outside Frederick's Dublin Roasters Coffee as their moms told the story.
The two girls, both 13, are best friends now. So are Przybyl and Sipes. And as of a few years ago, they're also business partners.
On Sunday, Sipes's online shop, The Simple Life, was one of half a dozen vendors participating in a pop-up psychic fair in the parking lot of the North Market Street coffee shop.
The Simple Life sells items that Sipes says are meant to boost users' spiritual health. Przybyl supplies her with decorative wall hangings and other macramé and crocheted pieces. She also sells products such as candles, herbs, incense, sage and rosemary smudge sticks.
Sipes, whose grandmother was a medium in Michigan, has been interested in all things spiritual since she was a young girl. She started her online shop in 2016 and hopes to open a brick-and-mortar store in downtown Frederick.
"We'll probably be co-workers for the rest of our lives," she said, smiling at Przybyl.
A few feet away from the shade of Sipes and Przybyl's tent, Mary Crowe squinted in the bright sunlight. A table packed with minerals and gemstones sparkled in front of her.
Crowe, who also works in real estate, sells crystals and rocks through her online shop, Druzy Girl. She traveled from Bumpass, Virginia, north of Richmond, to participate in Sunday's psychic fair.
Though she's relatively new to the game — she started her shop less than a year ago — she's always loved rocks. She used to collect pyrite, also known as "fool's gold," off a beach in Connecticut.
One of her favorite things about being in business is chatting with her customers about the stones they're purchasing and where they plan on putting them when they get home.
"It's just like [how] horse people like other horse people," Crowe said. "Rock people like other rock people."
Erin Nelson drove out from Charles Town, West Virginia, to visit the psychic fair. She's a medium and palm reader who likes to support her fellow vendors.
She picked up some blue turquoise, purple fluorite and jade from Crowe's booth on Sunday. She plans to place some of the rocks in the room she uses for palm reading at home and show the smooth palm stones she purchased to her husband and daughter.
"They like to hold them and carry them sometimes," she said. "Instead of a stress ball."
Reiki master and tarot card reader Kristin Tamke organized Sunday's psychic fair. She didn't have time to put her sign out before customers started arriving just before the event was scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Though Tamke has since moved to Manassas, Virginia, she lived in Frederick for about a decade. She started hosting events outside of Dublin Roasters a couple of years ago. Besides psychic exhibitions, she's also organized fairy and wizard festivals.
The paranormal has always fascinated Tamke. She started honing her skills as a card reader after visiting a few psychics and mediums and watching their predictions come true. Now, she says she's honored to help people contact deceased loved ones and seek guidance in major life decisions.
Joy Kesselman is a faithful customer of Tamke's.
She met the card reader while she was still living in Frederick. Tamke is gifted and has "great energy," Kesselman said. She popped by the psychic fair, hoping to run into her.
"I haven't seen her in years, so I'm due for a little Kristin juice," Kesselman said, making Tamke laugh.
Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier
