Rain washes out Nepean Night Market’s Day of the Dead celebration

People were mesmerized by the unique-looking clouds, taking photos with no knowledge that a storm was brewing above a recent Day of the Dead celebration at the Nepean Night Market.

Located in the parking lot of Mr. Lube at 1442 Baseline Rd., this market was meant to be a four-hour event on Oct. 6.

During the one hour, music played as people mingled between vendor booths and food trucks.

Within minutes, rain began to pour, but that did not stop the 35 local vendors from showing off their products.

Jenn Ducharme, owner of The Goblin’s Nest Odds and Ends, displayed artistic handmade items.

“I have reusable wrapped cups, I make candles and I have essential oil perfumes. I also make raw crystal jewelry wraps into necklaces. I have protection charms that I’ve made because I am a practicing Wiccan, and then I make a whole bunch of earrings and necklaces with that,” said Ducharme.

Ducharme’s mental health was a motivator to create The Goblin’s Nest Odds and Ends.

“I was going through a really hard time mentally and I’ve always had sort of a passion for anything artistic and I said, You know what? I’m going to put my sadness to good use, and the Goblin’s Nest was born,” said Ducharme.

Ducharme has been a vendor at previous Nepean night markets.

“Honestly, everyone here is fantastic, there’s a lot of different things to offer. It’s such a good atmosphere to be around and there’s always live music and food. Who can beat that?” said Ducharme.

Amparo Ardura, co-owner of La Chula, entered the spice and salsa-making business three years ago.

“The community has been very helpful. They try your product, like it and they start showing it to their friends. It’s really good having these markets so we can help each other,” said Ardura.

Ashley McGee and Alyssa Mayotte, co-owners of Crafty Bangers, were motivated to get their creative juices flowing.

“I got a Cricut machine, and we decided to be creative,” said McGee.

Crafty Bangers exhibited homemade banners, tote and gift bags and pouches.

Joshua Halpenny and Supreet Natt, co-owners of ShinePaw Partners, had LED dog products, including collars and leashes.

“We actually almost witnessed a near hit. We were walking down the sidewalk one time and there was this guy dressed in black with a black dog. A car almost ran into them and we said well, that’s unsafe,” said Halpenny.

After witnessing that close call, Halpenny and Natt founded ShinePaw Partners to help prevent canine incidents.

Pam Man, the organizer, called off the Nepean Night Market due to poor weather at 6 p.m.

Following increments of heavy downpours of rain, vendors were told to pack up to avoid the next wave of the storm.

The Nepean Night Market will return to the same location on Oct. 20 for the grand finale of the season.