Honouring grief and loss together
The annual Memento Mori festival, is a month long festival to celebrate and explore life, love, loss, grief, death and dying in qathet.
Calendar of Events
October 17 to November 8
Earth Bodies Exhibition
Viewing days: Monday to Wednesday 12 to 5pm
qathet Art Centre
November 2
Community Ofrenda – Dia De Los Muertos
Collective remembrance, dance performance, art
12 -3 pm
ʔahʔǰumɩχʷ Willingdon Beach Pavillion
Join for a special celebration of the Day of the Dead. A day to honour and remember our loved ones who have passed away. All are welcome!
Our Ofrenda – community memorial will be a vibrant and heartfelt tribute to this Mexican tradition and a chance for the community to gather and celebrate our loved ones together. A meaningful opportunity to share stories and memories of your loved ones and add to the ofrenda. At the Willingdon Beach Pavilion you will find the Ofrenda, a colourful display of candles, marigolds, sugar skulls, cherished mementos, and photos.
The memorial will be a backdrop to performances by artists:
Singer – Naty Cerecedo, sponsored by Iguanas Mexican Grill & Performers – Ballet Nahualli Folklor, sponsored by Blue Agave Tequilla Grill.
There will be an art activity with local artist Christian Borrego. And hot beverages and food will be served.
November 3
The Telephone of the Wind installation launch and Walk of Memories
with Four Tides Hospice Society
2:30 to 5pm
Cranberry Cemetery
free
In 2010, Japan’s Itaru Sasak placed an old phone booth in his garden, installed a rotary phone and called a cousin who had died of cancer. He called it The Telephone of the Wind. The next year, he made it available to the thousands of people who never had a chance to say goodbye to a loved one they’d lost in the huge tsunami of 2011. His project struck a chord; since then hundreds of wind phones, of every imaginable design, have been installed around the world. Local artists Harvey Chomesky and Roger Langmaid have just finished installing ours in the Cranberry Cemetery.
It is a way for you to say goodbye, to say you’re sorry, to offer forgiveness, to give good news, to share your grief. Ours is an old rotary phone (donated kindly by the PR Health-Care Auxiliary Economy Shop) sitting on a shelf built into a beautiful slab of local maple (donated by Roger) and lovingly attached (without screws) to a venerable cedar in the graveyard. It stands on a stone donated by T & R Contracting. A spiral of beach pebbles above the phone changes from grey to white to signal the lightening of your spirit as your words are carried on the wind to the one you miss.
From 3 to 5 pm, following the launch of the Telephone of the Wind, we will be holding a Walk of Memories, honouring all who have experienced loss. This interactive and ceremonial walk will feature four thoughtfully designed stations, each providing a space for reflection and remembrance of your loved one or any other losses you may have encountered. The event will culminate in a gathering where refreshments will be served, offering an opportunity for friendly conversation and connection.
November 6
Exploring Playlists Workshop
presented by Kathy Szajnfeld
Make your own playlist through love, loss, grief and lived experience.
7 to 8:30pm
qathet Art Centre
by donation
In this workshop, Kathy will share the playlist of songs she began developing while she was grieving the loss of her partner. Through this playlist journey Kathy found comfort and healing.
This workshop is open to all interested in the power of music; it would be of benefit to care givers, grief counsellors, song writers, artists, spiritual leaders and anyone who has or is experiencing loss.
November 7
Advance Care Planning Workshop
with Four Tides Hospice Society
qathet Art Centre
by donation – pre-registration required
Advance Care Planning is a process of thinking and talking about what’s important to you. This helps you, and those closest to you, prepare to make future health-care decisions. This workshop will help you to think about what matters most to you, to discuss your plans with those closest to you, and to begin recording your wishes.
To register please contact programs@fourtideshospice.org as seating is limited.
November 8 to 15
Artist in Residence Kait Ramsden
Offering interactive workshops at qathet ART centre.
Learn more about
multidisciplinary artist and dance educator, Kait Ramsden’s residency at qathet ART Centre here.
November 8
Memento Mori Workshop – Guided Meditation on the Cycle of Life and Death
with live ambient music
6:30 to 8pm
$20 (sliding scale)
workshop details
Performance artist and movement facilitator Kait Ramsden will guide a 40 minute meditation for deep contemplation of the cycle of life and death. The meditation will be accompanied by live ambient electronic music created by Big Zen, and will be followed by snacks, refreshments, and discussion. This meditation will focus on imagery of the four seasons as a way to conceptualize the cycle of life and death, as well as offer the time and space to feel big and small sensations in the body as another cycle of change. This workshop draws upon Ramsden’s practice of looping and ritual as both an aesthetic technique and tool to process change and loss. Participants will be encouraged to bring an object of their choosing to contribute to the shared altar, which will be incorporated sonically into the looping live ambient music.
November 9 – 1 to 3pm
November 13 – 6:30 to 8:30pm *new date added*
Adult Beginner Contemporary Dance Workshop
with live electronic music
$20 (sliding scale)
workshop details
Beginner contemporary dance class is for exactly who you think – beginners! Trying something new is hard, and this class holds space for the bravery of showing up for yourself and trying something new. This class is loosely based in “release technique” which is a way to describe different ways to roll around and get in and out of the floor. During our workshop we will explore rolling, joint mobility, balance, strength, jumps, and breathwork for grounding and healing. Kait will act as a guide throughout the class, but encourages participants to listen to their body as the ultimate guide. Any forms of movement or modifications in class are welcome. Class will be accompanied by live electronic musician Big Zen who will support our movement with lush ambient sounds and big electronic beats. Participants will be encouraged to wear comfortable clothing with long pants and sleeves to assist with sliding on the floor.
November 20
Green Burials in qathet Workshop
with Community Supported Dying
6:30 to 8pm
qathet Art Centre
by donation
Come and learn about local options in qathet, including caskets, shrouding, and natural burial sites available in our region.
Presented by Community-Supported Dying (CSD), an initiative in the qathet Regional District. The vision of CSD is a community literate in, and with the social infrastructure to support, those who are dying, their caregivers, and the bereaved.
The Memento Mori Festival is hosted by qathet ART in collaboration with Four Tides Hospice Society, Community-Supported Dying qathet, and more…
With support from the BC Arts Council and the Province of British Columbia, qathet Regional District, and the City of Powell River
