Festival 2026
The To Absent Friends festival takes place across Scotland from 1-7 November 2026.
It is 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 taking place around Scotland and online.
These listings are live, so new events will be added in the coming weeks. If you have an event or activity you’d like to add, please email details to samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.
Growing Memories
Organised by Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre
26 October and 2 November 2026
Glasgow
This activity is for the Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre community.
Amina’s WFG will have 2 sessions dedicated to Muslim and Minority Ethnic Women’s experiences of death and bereavement.
Session 1 (26 October): discussion & decorating plant pots.
Session 2 (2 November): discussion & planting bulbs.
The WFG participants will join facilitated conversations together around their experiences of death and bereavement. These will give the women the opportunity to share their experiences and coping mechanisms, their memories both happy and sad, their religious observances and their cultural traditions. An additional element of these talking and planting sessions is the Islamic principle of Sadaqah Jariyah (continuous charity). Caring for plants and other living things can be seen as an ongoing act of kindness and charity.
By taking part in a creative activity whilst talking about grief, the women won’t sit facing each other, instead sitting side by side taking part in a gentle activity. It is well known that creative activities are good for mental health, and hard conversations are best when there is reduced eye contact and hands are kept busy with activities. The women come to Amina’s group because it is a safe and supported space, and this will be an opportunity to connect by sharing their experiences and memories around death and grief and bereavement.
This activity is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
Photo credit: Markus Spiske via Unsplash
To Absent Friends Remembrance Event
Organised by Jewish Care Scotland
Monday 2 November 2026, 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Jewish Care Scotland, Walton Community Care Centre, Giffnock G46 6LD
This activity is for the Jewish Care Scotland community. Please register in advance.
In the company of friends and peers who have lost a loved one, join Jewish Care Scotland for a special afternoon of remembrance and celebration of the lives of our absent friends and loved ones.
Please register your attendance in advance and let us know the name of your absent friend to be remembered in our souvenir brochure.
With live music, we welcome song requests in advance, but please note that it may not be possible to include all requests.
Places are limited. Please register you attendance by calling 0141 620 1800, emailing comms@jcarescot.org.uk or speaking to one of the team.
This activity is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
The Stories They Left With Us
Organised by Datakirk with Proudly Black & Scottish
2 November 2026, 7 to 8pm
Online via Microsoft Teams
This activity is open to the public. Please register in advance.
Some people leave us. Their stories don’t have to.
The Stories They Left With Us is an online evening of storytelling and remembrance, organised by Datakirk and Proudly Black & Scottish as part of their work with ethnic minority communities in Scotland. Community members come together to share stories of loved ones who have died, because their stories stay with us.
How the hour runs:
- Welcome, and an introduction to the project and our partner, To Absent Friends.
- A moment to settle into remembering loved ones and celebrating their lives.
- An introduction to the DataKirk team for our storytellers.
- Stories from three guests, shared live and recorded. We have room for up to five storytellers.
- Support: how to reach us.
- We close at 8pm after the third story.
Guests are joining from across Scotland, including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Stories will be recorded and may be shared as part of the To Absent Friends festival. Proudly Black & Scottish is a Datakirk project: proudlyblacknscottish.com
Register your free place here: https://luma.com/vqk0rsck
This activity is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
To Absent Friends - Community Remembrance Drop-in event
Organised by Humanist Society Scotland
Monday, 2nd November, 4pm - 6pm
At Typewronger Books, Bruntsfield EH10 4HN.
This activity is open to the public. Please register in advance.
This pop-up event is kindly hosted by Typewronger Books in Bruntsfield, where we will provide a welcoming, inclusive and supportive space where people can come together to remember family members, friends, colleagues and other important people in their lives who have died.
Through shared memories, quiet reflection and simple acts of remembrance, the event will celebrate the lives and contributions of those who are absent while bringing the community together.
There will be the opportunity to hang a paper leaf on our memory tree, read some poetry, or enjoy some simple paper crafts (such as origami paper folding), refreshments and an opportunity for informal conversation or quiet reflection. A relaxed and informal space, where everyone is welcome.
Find out more and book your place here.
This activity is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
Photo credit: Humanist Society Scotland and Typewronger Books Demystifying Death Week 2025 activity.
A Wall of Memories
In partnership with Finn’s Place, Battlefield Community Project and Curious Mortals.
Sunday 25th October 2026 – Sunday 8th November 2026.
Taking place at Finns Place, 167 Ledard Rd, Glasgow G42 9QU.
This activity is open to the public. No need to book in advance.
A movable Remembrance Wall will be hosted in Finn’s Place for people to leave tributes to those they miss. Feel free to pop into Finns at any point to have a cup of tea and leave a message.
During the time that the wall is up, there are various events happening at Finns Place which help us to think about those we miss, including our monthly Death Café (5th Nov), “Written in the Stars” (5th Nov), and the Battlefield Lantern Parade (25th Oct), which coincides with the launch of the wall. The parade has a “Day of the Dead” theme to remind people to honour and remember their ancestors and features performers, music and refreshments.
For information about the Death Café and Written in the Stars, email hello@curiousmortals.co.uk
This activity is supported by a To Absent Friends small grant.
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash
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