Festival 2024
The To Absent Friends festival took place across Scotland from 1-7 November 2024.
It was an opportunity to remember, to tell stories, to celebrate and to reminisce about people we love who have died. To Absent Friends, a People’s Festival of Storytelling and Remembrance is an opportunity to revive lost traditions and create new ones.
Below is a list of the events that took place.
To Absent Friends – A Loch Goil Legacy 2024
Organised by Lochgoil Trust
1-11 November
Lochgoilhead Village Hall Registrar’s Office
This exhibition is open to the public.
For generations, the “Registrar’s Office” within Lochgoilhead Village Hall was the place for local people from the Loch Goil area to register births, marriages, and deaths within the parish. This year a collaboration between the Village Hall Trust and the Lochgoil Community Trust sees the re-opening of the Registrar’s Office as an exhibition space. From 1 – 11 November the exhibition “To Absent Friends - A Loch Goil Legacy” will celebrate and remember the lives of Loch Goil area people who have died during 2024, marking their page in the history of the community and the space they have left behind.
The exhibition will consist of portrait photographs of each person, along with a brief biography of their life and contribution to the community. Open to the public, the space will also include a Visitor Book where people who visit the exhibition can note their visit and contribute their own memories, with a space apart to “light a candle” in an act of remembrance, love, and respect.
The exhibition will also raise awareness of the Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief project supported by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care and leaflets will be made available related to death, dying and bereavement.
This exhibition is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
Photo credit: Lochgoil Trust
Remembering Our Dear Friends
Organised by Cosgrove Care
30th October, 1-3pm
36 Burnfield Road G46 7DE
This event is not open to the public.
Cosgrove with the support of To Absent Friends is hosting an event to remember the lives of Tim and Alan.
The Cosgrove community will come together to celebrate the lives of our dear friends. We’ll gather to remember the memories we shared, the laughter we shared and the stories we shared, as we honour the lives of Tim and Alan.
This event is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
The Kali Collective Death Café
Organised by the Kali Collective in collaboration with Jenny Watt
Thursday 31st October 2024, 7.15pm-8.30pm
Kali Collective Yoga Studio, Unit 203, 54 Washington St, Glasgow G3 8AZ
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
Our cafes are very informal - think big cushions, plenty of tea and yummy snacks!
As this café coincides with Samhain and Kali Puja (a day dedicated to the goddess Kali) there may be a few little extra parts to the café, however there will still be lots of opportunities to chat about death, dying and remembering those we miss.
We want to make sure everyone feels welcome in our space so we do ask for people to book a place - this lets us know who we are expecting and we can also contact you with access codes for the building. You can book via the TeamsUp app - https://goteamup.com/p/5837016-the-kali-collective-yoga-/ (you do need to make an account but it is relatively straightforward).
Image credit: Jenny Watt
Get Together for an Afternoon of Music and Cabaret with Jayd and Jenna
Organised by Dumfries Get Together
Sunday 6th October
The Masonic Club, George Street, Dumfries
This event is open to Dumfries Get Together members.
This year we are planning a trip down memory lane with a show supplied by Jayd and Jenna from Fitsteps.
The event is being organised and hosted by the committee of Dumfries Get Together and will take place on Sunday 6th October at The Masonic Club, George Street, Dumfries.
Jayd and Jenna will sing songs through the decades and encourage the women to singalong and possibly have a little dance. Music and dance are always evocative in bringing up memories.
Dumfries Get Together is a women’s social group which is open to all women over the age of 16. We have women from a wide range of backgrounds. Some are married, many are unfortunately widowed and some are single or divorced.
The group provides a variety of events for members including coffee meetings, days out, walking groups, sewing and knitting and art classes to name but a few.
This event is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
www.meetup.com/dumfriesgettogether
Photo credit: Dumfries Get Together
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