The couple stole reminiscent glances as they shared their 10 years of past magical memories.

Nathan Kepner and Morgan Tsu-Raun are members of Crescent Circus who travel around the country to perform magic shows.

“We do magic and circus arts and I started in college, but we started working together in 2009,” Tsu-Raun said. “I started off hula hooping then I branched out to magic.”

Kepner and Tsu-Raun were sweethearts in college and have now been married for one year.

Along with the free shirts, hats and creation stations, this magical couple is what helped fill the halls of the Martin Luther King Jr. Union on Friday for Up All Night.

“We have seen each other more than any other couple we have ever met,” Kepner said. “Last December we drove 8,000 miles in a month, and that’s a lot of time in a car.”

The couple also travel with other companions including three doves, a parakeet and their dog.

Repner said when he and his wife first started trying to perform as their sole source of income they were street performers in New Orleans.

Josh Saxton 

“The easiest thing that we do is the upside down juggling,” Kepner said. “The hardest trick is the shoulder stand with the hula hoops going, because it was three years before we actually got that one solid.”

One of the acts the couple performed at the event involved Kepner juggling knives while standing on his wife’s shoulders.

“The closest we got to falling was when I was standing on Morgan, juggling the knives and a very intoxicated gentleman shoved her while I was standing on her juggling,” Kepner said.

Tsu-Raun said it is good to have events promoting student connection because it encourages a happier environment on campus.

“When I was a freshman, I did not feel like I was part of the community,” Tsu-Raun said. “I wished we had more things like this to feel connections with other students because that helps you succeed more as a student.”

Aaliyah Stephen, a University Board special events coordinator, said the welcome back weekend was implemented to give students the last spark of fun before buckling down for classes.

“The original show was supposed to be a freak show,” Stephen said. “We decided to go to another level with the husband and wife and a magic show to make it creative for the audience.”

Klaudia Ptak, a freshman biology major, said she came to the event to see what it is and how many people would show up, but also to meet others.

“It gets everyone to go out, especially the underclassmen, because I was in my dorm the whole time so it definitely brought me out,” Ptak said. “I met a lot of people today, I got a lot of people’s numbers so it was a cool experience.”

Kelly Svoboda, a senior marketing major, said events like ‘Up all Night’ bring freshmen together and gives them an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone, to meet the friends they can make on campus.

“If they didn’t have these events people probably wouldn’t know what to do and would probably stay in their rooms,” Svoboda said.

T’Nerra Butler can be reached at 581-2812 or tabutler@eiu.edu