As the spring semester creeps up and the stress of new classes begin to dwell on students, every precaution for self-care and relaxation must be taken.
Down the street from campus, a local antique-trinket store, ‘Herbs & Oddities,’ hosts a monthly Tea Tent. Started September 2019, Tea Tent has since grown in popularity and has become a regular event for the community to enjoy.
Guests are invited to join store owners, Fawn Gregg and Christina Bishop, in a two-hour relaxing conversation over tea while sitting on blankets under a big tree at the storefront. The event is free, relaxed and welcoming to all guests who wish to join their monthly tea party.
Store owner, Fawn Gregg, not only offers freshly brewed tea for the group but also brings extra teacups for those who do not bring their own to the event.
“This event is meant to bring the community together to have time to just talk about the world around us while surrounded by the fresh air,” Gregg said.
At the past Jan. 15 event, about 12 guests showed up to sit in the fresh air and enjoy each other’s company. Daniel Gomez, electrical engineering senior, was among the guests and even brought tarot cards to do a group reading.
Gomez shared a story with the guests about going to a certain coffee shop in town in order to practice his tarot readings and the manager nagged him to buy something or leave. He proceeded to leave because he did not want to be pressured into buying anything, so he went to Herbs & Oddities where people would sit in front of him to get a reading and he was welcomed back by the owner to do regular readings for the customers.
“You always have to make the positive out of the negative in order to make sense of everything around you,” Gomez said.
This story perfectly sums up the atmosphere of Tea Tent because everyone laughs and connects about the negatives of life, but no matter how deep the conversation gets it always manages to surface into positivity.
While some people may get nervous walking into a situation where they do not know a single soul, Tea Tent works to alleviate those nerves. Tea Tent allows a group of strangers to connect over freshly-brewed tea and random conversation while sitting in a circle.
Amanda Beaver, exercise sports science junior, attended the event as moral support for a friend when she heard about the social aspect of Tea Tent.
“I actually really enjoyed myself, especially the tea,” Beaver said. “I usually do not like tea, but Fawn’s freshly brewed tea was amazing and the people were so fun to talk to that I did not realize that an hour had gone by so quickly.”
Not only does Herbs & Oddities host monthly Tea Tent events, but they also host Cacao Club, Kava Club, Rock Sales and New Moon Women’s Event.
Cacao and Kava Club are similar to Tea Tent; you sit and enjoy special types of beverages, under the night sky, in a circle of blankets and friends.
The Rock Sales are to prepare for the shop’s re-stock of crystals at the Tuscon Gem & Mineral Shows. Public discounts are offered to crystals in stock.
The New Moon Women’s Event invites guests to come to set their intentions for the month and release those intentions that no longer serve them all over a nice cup of tea under the stars.
On top of all of these events that the shop hosts, they also sell a wide variety of self-help and healing merchandise to help individuals protect their aura on their own time. These products include a wide variety of bulk herbs, CBD oils, incense, essential oils and stones. Gregg also offers palm and tarot readings by reservation in-store.
For more information about merchandise and events, visit their website https://www.herbsandoddities.com