Second Annual Swan Song Festival Event- October 17 , 2020 ...

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Second Annual Swan Song Festival Event- October 17th, 2020

Event Highlights

1)Sarah Hines Host Team Lead

Name of your event: Grief Letter Writing Workshop

Who came out to your event and how many? thankfully a small group - there was 4 of us in total (this is why the time allotted was good)

What kind of coverage you got from media, if any? didn't push for it - so none.

The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? excellent job and so glad to see their support

What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival - the idea that we could celebrate in person feels really big for 2021. that covid has caused a ripple of grief that we haven't quite understood fully.

What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams? Honestly - I'm not sure. This is a volunteer board. Perhaps a sponsorship with paying vendors to help pay for some of the current and additional PR work?

Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, what will you do differently next year? Yes - I would like to time our Grief Convergence event with this.

Thank you so much to CDC for all your hard work in organizing the 2nd annual Swan Song Event.

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2)Nicola Finch Host Team Lead Name of your event: BURIAL SHROUD WORKSHOP What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by.. Surprised by the interest from folks all over the world. Proud of offering my experiences and vulnerabilities in a relaxed and open way. What your biggest takeaways are in terms of learnings... That there is a great interest in planning for our own dispositions. That so many of us are looking for ways to approach our own death with love and gentleness and looking for ways to make it easier on those we love. Who came out to your event and how many? 47 signed up, some donated, some free. 26 people attended. From Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, South Africa, England and all over the US and Canada. What kind of coverage you got from media, if any? None. The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? Difficult to quantify but judging from the interest in burial shrouds, which is related to Community Deathcaring, I would say the interest is widespread. What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival Having a second person to handle the technical end of things if the third is also held online. Fortunately, I had two women at the workshop who jumped in and handled the chat; Maddy and Teresa. They were a godsend. What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams? CDC did a fabulous job of supporting my workshop and promoting all the events. Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, what will you do differently next year? I dearly hope we can gather next year in person and I would like to make our event a LOCAL community event. While it is lovely to reach out globally, Community Deathcaring is about ‘community’ and I really want to make stronger connections with people here in the Cariboo.

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Link to the workshop recording https://youtu.be/-YqaugIDBhw Nicola Finch [email protected] PO Box 4744, Williams Lake, BC V2G2V7 778.765.1552 Cariboo Community Natural Burial Association Website Facebook Instagram Natural Burial in BC Website Facebook Instagram Cariboo Community Deathcaring Association Website Facebook Instagram

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3) Joe Hiscott Host Team Lead Name of your event: Swan Song Festival Chant du cygne, mini boat launch to honour our grief What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by.. I appreciated (proud) that I was able to help another family make the day lily boats for their launching. I was surprised at how engaged the whole family was and amazed at the video they produced of the event. I was surprised by how moving this ritual was, despite only being with my sweetie, and not a whole group. The intention and intimacy were sweet and felt meaningful.

• The collaborative process of our team was incredible - it really deepened our connections and gave us a taste of the true, loving community support that we can offer each other and to members of our communities.

• That we came up with and offered a meaningful experience for people that was simple, universal and inclusive.

• that our event encouraged people to connect with the natural world to create eco-safe boats and launch them into a body of water near them at sunset. This feels very important and fundamental to this movement of re-engagement with dying and deathcare and is at the core of my life work.

• that we continue to foster CDQ’s allyship with the Kanienkehaka Traditional Council. deeply touched by how positive they were about our mini-boat launch ritual for grief and their commitment to share info about it to all their contacts. Stuart Mylow spoke about how appropriate and timely this initiative was due to the pandemic and in this time we are living that he described as the death of humanity. He and his teachings call for a return to respect for the mothers and their life giving and that death as part of life must also be honoured.

• I was delighted that this year I could participate and encourage participation in Aylmer, QC where I live. Last year we hosted in Rupert,QC and this year in more communities in Quebec and we even had participants who like elsewhere in Canada and beyond!

What your biggest take aways are in terms of learnings... I’ve learned it is possible to work creatively with our current pandemic situation in terms of acknowledging our grief in tangible ways. I learned that there is still room for ritual during these very trying times, and we never know who will need the community support in this way, and the inspiration to honour someone they love and lost. Due to Covid we couldn’t gather to experience the ritual together and in-person as a community, but this did make it a very intimate experience - and this encouraged each of us who participated to do it ourselves.

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Who came out to your event and how many? It was virtual so we don’t know the numbers and who all participated. Word of mouth seemed to be the best way to encourage participation and I got a sense that people who were encouraged and/or supported to participate did so and were very grateful for the experience. What kind of coverage you got from media, if any? Newspaper article -photo on the front page of the Aylmer Bulletin with the headline "Swan Song Festival to commemorate loved ones during COVID.” and the article the journalist wrote (page 3) did a great job of communicating about CDQ and the event we were hosting as part of CDC’s Swan Song Festival 2020 -Kanienkehaka Traditional Council spread through their network. had poster translated into Spanish as well and spread amongst their contacts down south. The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? I had no feedback of interest in CDC from those I told about the event. I have gotten no feedback in terms of interest in the CDC or in the movement. I was also very pleased with how touched people were - by participating directly in the ritual, by hearing about it, by seeing photos, by viewing the exquisite film of her families experience by participant, Christine Persaud. this event affirmed that there is clearly a hunger in people to be actively and creatively engaged in their grieving and honouring of their loved ones when they die. What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival The pandemic might be a continued back drop in Oct 2021 Important to stay open to having to adapt the event to the lingering effects to the pandemic. What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams? Help us share that our event was not only in Rupert, QC like in 2019. Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, What will you do differently next year? We would be happy to organize again next year. *************************************** Here’s the link to the video made by Christine Persaud: https://vimeo.com/470138998 Here’s the link to Aylmer Bulletin’s article they wrote on us: http://www.bulletinaylmer.com/swan-song-festival-to-commemorate-loved-ones-during-covid?id=794 CBC covered our event on radio much later .

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4) Maddy Christie Host Team Lead Name of your event - A Grief Ritual What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by.. - Proud of the effort I put into our event while also helping to organize the festival like the other hosts/organizers. Always amazed by the positive feedback we get, even if there isn't a lot of engagement. What your biggest take aways are in terms of learnings... - Learned that making an effort to keep things simple is important. Who came out to your event and how many? - We really only had 3 active participants using the hashtag #swansongchallenge, and those included myself and Shawna. The 3rd was a good friend. I did not get any messages from people that did the challenge and didn't post it on social media, but who knows, maybe a few more participated! What kind of coverage you got from media, if any? - No media coverage even though I sent out a press release to 3 local island media outlets. Was possibly a little late by the time I sent them out? Will send earlier next year. The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? - As I mentioned, lots of positive feedback about community deathcare in general, but still not as much public interest in the topic and CDC in general as I would like. I believe that will come though. What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival. Again, keep it simple, focus more on social media presence and advertising, and think outside the box as far as how we organize the events to be a cohesive festival. What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams?- I may be biased here but I think we did a pretty good job with the available resources. Simplifying all processes as much as we can help make it easy for more people to host events. Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, What will you do differently next year? - Definitely. Not sure what we'd do differently yet but looking forward to building on what we have already done and improving each year.

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5) Michelle Stokotelny Host Team Lead

Name of Event: Swan Song Festival 2020 - Honouring Our Grief

What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by.. It was a lovely ceremony, and we had about 9 people join in (more were registered but not everyone could attend)

What your biggest take aways are in terms of learnings...I would love to host again whether in person or online, though I'm hoping to advertise more and have more people involved next time.

Who came out to your event and how many? Approximately 9 people joined in, but not as many that had registered. Time zones may have been an issue, as well as time of day.

What kind of coverage you got from media, if any? None.

The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? Still plenty of room for growth, this is not as well known in Winnipeg as it is in Ontario or B.C. yet.

What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival There was no team, just myself, but I would definitely want to increase advertising for next year. The people who mostly seemed interested in this are already involved in deathcare, and a few were bereaved.

What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams? I think you all did an amazing job! It just needs to gain momentum, and I have no doubts that with more time!

Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, What will you do differently next year? I am definitely interested! I would want to focus on getting the word out there more and more, it would be great to add some videos or images from previous festivals, or even testimonials/reviews from attendees to continue expanding and encouraging awareness.

Thank you all for your time and support! It was a wonderful experience.

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6) Tracy Chalmers: Host Team Lead

Name of your event: Exploring ceremony and ritual in community to help us transform grief into life force

What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by..I was most proud of the quality of our event. Megan and I effortlessly worked together to create deeply meaningful & engaging event. We included grief advocacy, normalizing, reframing, stories & ritual. I was most surprised by the number of people who RSVPs and attended - that chose to spend a Saturday evening / night exploring grief. I was amazed at the spontaneous testimonials from people who attended, speaking to how moving our event was.

What your biggest take aways are in terms of learnings…The biggest learning was that it is very difficult to promote an event with posters during Covid as businesses & community hang outs are discouraging people from gathering. Also, I would use a registration link instead of having people email me directly. I was having storage issues with my computer and sadly, some of the emails were bouncing back to those interested in attending.

Who came out to your event and how many? We had 36 people RSVP We had 26 people attend. (As mentioned, a number of people mistakenly thought the event started two and a half hours later than it actually did, this led to confusion and some people regrettably missing out.)

What kind of coverage you got from media, if any? We did not engage with media; I regret this now!

The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? Great

What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival. You guys did an amazing job organizing and supporting those involved in this event!. I think it would be a good idea to not have events overlap. This would likely increase attendance and decrease confusion around start times.

What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams? Honestly, I can’t think of anything at the moment.

Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, What will you do differently next year? I would absolutely like to organize another event, anything I can do to contribute to improving end of life / grief literacy I am game. It will, however, depend on the topic & if it calls to me, as well as my capacity. I am (excitedly) taking on two big projects in 2021 and I am mindful of having a healthy work / life balance.

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PS - On that note, stay tuned about Beceremonial / Endwell collaboration: End of Life Doula ritual training program and End of Life Doula Association of Canada & BC Center for Palliative Care collaboration on a grief group involving community and ritual targeted at isolated seniors based on the Wild Edge of Sorrow

Here are some of the testimonials that were sent our way. I will ask for permission to share names and let you know if permission is given:

What a beautiful gathering tonight Tracy and Megan. Thank you so much. It felt warm and supported, and I really enjoyed the opening poem and the break out groups. This kind of honouring of grief is exactly what is needed right now. - Brandi Bailey

That was a beautiful space filled with love and an allowance to just feel and be. Many thanks to you both for all you do...and to my online new ‘Swan Song’ acquaintance , who was a wonderful ‘space holder’ for me!

Blessings, PJ”

I was so moved and touched by the Swan Song Festival you presented with Megan. It was such a special and intimate experience - thank you ! You have such a gift - are such a light to everyone! - Kelly Oberle

A million thanks for your presentation on Saturday....to Megan as well. What would the world do without people like you.like you two? - Sharon Johnston Blessings,

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7) iris a. paradela-hunter Host Team Lead Name of your event: Rhythms of Grief Organized and hosted by KORU Cremation | Burial | Ceremony™ What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by?

• Invited guests/speakers o The level of openness and vulnerability of each of the speakers --

when they accepted our invitation and when they spoke during the event.

o The emotion behind the poems and the authenticity of the stories was still palpable. With the online platform, I didn’t imagine that the rawness of feelings can still come across to the audience in their own homes.

• Participants o There were way more attendees than we expected. A pleasant

surprise! o I was informed by colleagues that only about 50% of people who

registered will actually attend the event. o I assumed that it will just be folks from Vancouver who will attend the

event. It was surprising to have participants from all over Canada, the U.S., and the Philippines (where I come from).

What your biggest takeaways are in terms of learnings?

• I learned that despite being physically apart from each other, the pain of grief and the celebration of our loved ones who died brings us together.

• Grief brings out the most profound and beautiful literary pieces. • Openness comes not only from the speakers but from the attendees as well. • The virtual aspect of the event means there’s no need to rent a space, people

don’t have to drive or commute to the event, etc). Who came out to your event and how many?

• The participants who attended were diverse in terms of age, location and occupation. But most participants were women from Vancouver in the 40 - 60 age range.

• A little over a hundred registered via Eventbrite. There were 53 who attended. There were a few who didn’t register but attended.

What kind of coverage did you get from media, if any?

• We had no media coverage. All our time and energy was focused on organizing and coordinating the event, there was no time to contact media people.

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The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? Very interested What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival?

• Register more people considering that only about 50% actually attend for virtual events.

• Technical rehearsal for a virtual gathering is very important. • Fewer guest speakers to focus time and effort.

What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams?

• To send out approvals of proposals a month before. Or to clarify that the host teams can start organizing as long as they meet certain basic requirements.

• Help focus on media coverage for the host teams. Possibly by initiating relationships with media outlets way before October and partnering with national and local media outlets who will cover our events.

• Perhaps hold one event (or post video clips) in early October where host teams talk about their events - what it is, why they thought of it.

• I think the theme “Honouring our Grief” really struck a chord with many people. It has a universal appeal.

Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, What will you do differently next year?

• Possibly, yes. • Most of the things I’d like to do differently would be the technical aspect of

the event. For example, highlighting the speaker when they speak, iron our technical glitches through rehearsals, etc.

Here are some testimonials we gathered from our survey forms. Unfortunately, many of the forms were answered anonymously. There is one who I can contact to ask permission for me to share her name. I’ll ask her.

So many rich moments!

I find the personalized aspect very powerful.

Would love to relisten to the recording if possible...even though I did attend.

Last night was wonderfully enriching. The diversity of speakers and stories is being savoured for sure.

I appreciate each speaker but was not able to write my thank yous as we went due to mobility issues.

When I experience something and it stays with me beyond a day or two, I know it is something to pay attention to. This is my experience with this offering.

I loved the speakers’ stories and poetry, the music and the altar and the host.

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8) Julie Handrahan Host Team Lead Honouring our Grief and Loss We hosted and event at Braggs Creek Alberta Provincial Park gathering to honour our grief. We waited with anticipation for the fire ban to be lifted. Who thought we would have to worry about a fire ban. However, with the dump of snow we received we were able to move forward. About 15 people attended, A warm and inviting fire was built among the spruce and pine and we created a sacred place to cleanse and encourage conversations about grief. A beautiful afternoon around the campfire; where those in attendance were offered a smudge and were able to write their thoughts and set them free by burning them in the fire. There were many great conversations amongst all; with everyone welcoming the opportunity to gather, share their stories, offer support and move their healing forward. It was a very healing afternoon, with many participating around the fire and then concluding their time with a walk to the river. I would love to participate once again; this opportunity was nothing but "incredible" Thank you for allowing Louise and I to be a part of it.

9) Aileen Stewart Host Team Lead

Name of Event: Labyrinth Walk

I am proud that we were able to safely do an in-person event this year and that costs were very low. I have lived in this community for 5 years now and it was affirming to realize that I now had a network of folks that I could invite to this event.

One learning was that even small, simple events have a number of details to take care of, to ensure that it runs smoothly. Talking it over with a couple of key people and doing a “dry run” helped with this. Next time I would begin with an offering of gratitude to the land and to the owners of the labyrinth. Other learnings were particularly related to this event: bring a watch for keeping track of the time, wear pants with pockets to hold lighter and phone, put the lantern on a stool for easier access, suggest no recorded music.

17 people came out, 3 cancelled on the day of, and everyone was personally invited by me, or by one of the other participants.

I was pleasantly surprised by the request for an interview on the day of the event and by the subsequent article in our local newspaper.

https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news/small-outdoor-festival- honours-grief-promotes-discussions-about-death-and-dying

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There were questions about what CDC was and I addressed that at the beginning. I still think that there are too many titles or affiliations when we have a theme as well:

“Community Deathcare Canada’s Swan Song Festival, brought to you by Deathcare Kingston, with the theme of Honouring Our Grief.”

That said, it was helpful to have a theme since we were creating ideas and events from scratch and the theme was very broad.

Our team has had no conversation or thoughts about next year’s event yet. The fact that we got coverage this year and that we pulled it off does lend momentum and positivity to doing something for the Third Annual.

The support from CDC this year from Maddy with regards to social media was very helpful and I really appreciated that. As someone else mentioned, there was some confusion from FB about start times. One of our participants read that we began at 7pm but I couldn’t see where she got that from.

OVERVIEW OF EVENT

I arrived early to Lake Ontario Park to set out candles at the 6ft measurements around the labyrinth that I had laid out the night before. The candles and lantern were lit by 6:15 and then I went to meet the others at the pavilion. Everyone arrived by 6:30 and after a short introduction we proceeded to the labyrinth. Everyone stood around the outside of the labyrinth at one of the designated spots, holding space for those walking inside.

Nancy walked into the centre and read a poem to open our circle:

In Blackwater Woods, by Mary Oliver.

I walked the spiral to set the pace/tone and then rang a bell for everyone to move one space to the left, allowing the next person to enter the spiral. We had three people at a time in the spiral in the interest of time. It took just over 30 minutes for the 17 people to walk. Each participant brought an unlit candle, walked in silence, and lit their candle from the lantern in the centre of the spiral. They rejoined the circle surrounding the labyrinth as they came out.

When everyone had walked Wendy Luella sang her original song: Time and Space To Grieve, and we sang or hummed along.

Then it was time to welcome any sharing’s that folks had to offer. Some spoke, others read a verse, a couple played a recorded song and then we asked for names to be spoken into the centre of those that we wanted to remember.

We finished by humming Time and Space as we closed the circle and people headed out.

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12) Dawn Carson Host Team Lead Name of your event ~ Death Visualization by Death Matters What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by.. ~ Participants were asked to imagine themselves to the last breath in a 10-15-minute visualization. We were amazed at how engaged the participants were with our offering of a visualization. The post conversation was wonderful. The age group for participation was much younger than expected. What are your biggest take aways are in terms of learnings… ~ book more time - We needed more time for Q & A after the visualization? We could have offered the event 4 times over the day. Who came out to your event and how many? ~ we had appx 12 people for each of our 2 visualization sessions What kind of coverage you got from media, if any? ~ No media coverage..we were very late joining the agenda with an event The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general? ~ Under the current pandemic situation in Canada deathcaring is getting a lot of media coverage. The need for more support for seniors in Canada is more top of mind than ever before. The time seems ripe for us to be seen and heard for what CDC offers to community deathcaring. I believe we may have great coverage this year. What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival ~Finding a clever way to get the attention of community and media… esp. if we will mostly be online again in 2021 for SS. What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams? ~ not sure - maybe shorter communications with links to more info if people wanted to know more about a certain aspect. Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, What will you do differently next year? I would like to organize another event for 2021. Not sure what we will do. It depends on the theme and the date and the pandemic. I’d actually like to do something similar if SS is online. If not we could do the visualization in a church with folks laying on the pews. Or maybe to do something in our local graveyard. Candle lighting for each grave & invite the public to participate maybe. I’ve always wanted to do a dinner in a grave yard “Dine with the Dead”. I have a few other things up my sleeve… but am not sure they will be ready this year. I really liked Joe’s offering this year for the water release.

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13) Judith McGill Host Team Lead Name of Event: Circling inward in our Grief and Circling outward in our Grief The Toronto Second Annual Swan Song Host Team has recently re-envisioned the Labyrinth Walk in High Park because of wanting to demonstrate an abundance of caution due to the Co-vid 19 pandemic. We are now hosting a community ritual online and we will be gathering people together to explore the theme of “honouring our grief”. The experience will be rich with soulful elements of live singers, poetry and reflection. Consider bringing your own poetry or a favorite poem to share. It was our intention as a local host team to create dialogue, invite people to share something of oneself and offer music to deepen their experience and connection to grief. Invitation to spontaneously build their own altar at home with their grief/loss in mind. We started out with sounding bowls and music and an invitation for people to sing with us and spontaneously build their own altar at home with their grief/loss in mind. Instead of physically walking a labyrinth we meditated on a beautiful finger labyrinth (you could mentally go through the same steps of circling inward and outward while the music played. What you are most proud of, surprised and amazed by:

• the willingness of people to spontaneously share their stories and be witness to each other’s grief.

• We couldn’t believe how powerful the experience was of doing the labyrinth in our hearts and minds.

• We were amazed at how ritual was created individually and collectively with silence, storytelling and music.

• It it was based on poeticism and lyricism and enough from the rhythm of the texture with enough time for silence and just being with each other on camera contemplating our journey with grief.

• I was a bit surprised by the depths of the feelings that I felt and that I felt safe sharing about my parents I wasn't expecting that.

• It felt like a Canada wide even. I was really thrilled that we had people with us from Regina and British Columbia-

• Really pleased with the blend of things that we offered in terms of sound and song etc and the interactivity of the event.

• beautiful thing to feel in terms of the idea of giving and receiving •

Who came out to your event and how many? Though 17 people in total bought tickets there were 14 people at the event.

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What kind of coverage you got from media, if any : none. The extent of interest in the CDC and the Movement in general?

• We spoke about the CDC and that we were in solidarity with events across the country. People came from other provinces. One of organizers took in the event from her bed post operation.

What your team thinks will be essential to keep in mind for the Third Annual Swan Song Festival –

• going forward we should consider having more events with an online component an online option for people who may be living with disabilities, elderly folks and/or people with compromised immune systems.

What could CDC do better to support the Host Teams?

• It would be helpful to have a “one month to go” zoom gathering of Host Team leads to hear about people’s events and learn from one another.

Would you like to organize another event for next year and if so, What will you do differently next year?

• Yes, definitely next year we will organize another event that incorporates the heart through music, poetry and sharing lived experiences.

Testimonials

• Thanks so much for Swan Song. I’ve not been impressed with virtual, intimate group meetings but there was a lot of depth to the session. I was not inclined to share as I was not sure what loss I was honouring. But when you mentioned ambiguity and climate change that helped me come to a realization.....perhaps for me it’s not so much the looming eco collapse, but my inability I’m thinking at a personal and community and global level to deal with uncertainty.....which brings me back to my OCD and anxiety and need for hyper control. Would love to chat one day as I appreciate your combined thinking integrating nature and people. And socio-eco Justice is on the rise.

• The poem that was read covered all the issues our society faces in a poetic manner which to me is profound. Most people can not grasp the totality of our losses and grief. We need to embrace the intersectionality of all that we feel grief and gratitude for....otherwise everything will just devolve towards a polarized, conflicted social discourse.

• It reminds me how rarely we get the opportunity to share our soft underbellies and it is such a joyous occasion. I send each of you love as we continue to circle outward cradling our grief and knowing that we are not alone.

• I felt such gently powerful healing medicine in this event for my own grief and it seems for others.

• We offered enough structure and tension, there was the right kind of tensile strength that had the looseness and the holes much like the craft of macrame so that it flowed.

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• The Circling inward and circling outward Toronto Swan Song event was a turning point for my own personal grief, both in helping lead and in participating.

• One of the good things for me because of this was feeling no difference between being a provider and a recipient of grief care. We all share alike, though differently, in the commonwealth of grief and death. Joining with others on an equal basis instead of in my professional role in palliative care was reviving for my spirit. Our co-designing of the evening was well suited by planned segments alternating with spontaneous input and periods of natural, unforced silence. Such periods of silence are telling of the comfort and safety level a group creates by its synergy. Additionally, our alternating between singing, soundings, spoken word, silence and input by participants' sharing’s created a beautiful texture allowing the human spirit to shine through the collective losses brought to the event. Personally, one of my griefs has been the loss of my singing communities and my sense of voice, so this event allowed me to find a new level of my expressive voice and ability to join with others. Thank you for all that everyone is doing to widen our individual and social capacity for living with the many deaths we encounter in life.

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14) Roula Said Host Team Lead

Name of Event: Swan Songs: An Intimate Cross-cultural Concert to Honour Death.

I started out with the intention of producing concert of songs with artists from different musical

and cultural backgrounds from across the country to create a performance of combined offerings,

part of it live and part pre-recorded. However, despite the willingness of many artists to

participate, I opted for something simpler. With the pandemic picture constantly changing and

also because my dear soul-aunt Nadia was dying, it seemed wiser and more realistic to do

something intimate and from the heart just with the people in my house (who happened to be

Nadia's daughter along with her husband and family).

The swan songs concert that I ended up presenting was from my "studio" in Toronto which was

originally my aunt Nadia's bedroom. Between the proposal for the concert and the event itself,

my Nadia died. It felt even more right to keep the concert intimate and small and in her honour.

We still presented songs from numerous cultures as was the original intention. Some traditional

and some original, also as in the original vision. We had 66 attendees on Facebook live. We

made it a pay what you like event. I made around $400 which exactly covered the costs of

paying my band.

Feedback was extremely positive. People said they loved the song choices and sang along to

some of them at home. Some asked us to do this monthly. I would love to do this again. If I

could do an in-person concert, it would be my wish to do it in a funeral home.

15) Kelly Butler Host Team Lead Name of Event: Candlelight Vigil Community Deathcare Ottawa hosted an online Candlelight Vigil to mark the second annual Swan Song Festival. It was an opportunity to honour our grief with song, poetry, prayer, and the witnessing of community. In the midst of shifting ground due to Covid-19 infection rates, our original plan to create a riverside ceremony had to be altered. The online version kept us at a safe distance, and we still managed to experience a sense of together while apart. With around 50 attendees, it was an evening that allowed many to acknowledge and honour the hardships of this past year. 'Along with live music and spoken word, we had a beautiful altar created by local artist Phoebe Hancock. This year's Swan Song Festival invited a little more creativity and problem-solving, which in the end added to the richness and meaning of the event."