Festival 2026

To Absent Friends Lunch

Organised by Dumfries Get Together

3 November 2026

Edenbank Hotel, Dumfries

This activity is for the Dumfries Get Together community.

Dumfries Get Together is a women’s, non profit social group with over 300 members. For many women the group has become a lifeline by offering friendship without judgement and activities that improve physical and mental wellbeing. We all share a simple goal: to reduce social isolation by enjoying great company and trying new activities.

Many of our members have experienced bereavement either recently or longer ago. Although many friendships have been built through our organisation and we support each other in our daily lives, our event will allow a dedicated time of reflection about those we have lost. With the support from the To Absent Friends programme we have organised a lunch in a private room at the Edenbank Hotel in Dumfries. Phillis Wright, a local humanist celebrant is going to start the event off with a short talk on the theme of dealing with loss and how to support each other through grief. During lunch we will encourage conversations to do with the theme, and for people to write down memories of those that have died or other thoughts arising from the day. With people’s permission these thoughts and reminiscences will then be displayed in our group’s meeting room for other members to read and add to so that as many people as possible will benefit.

We hope that the event will be a celebration of the lives of those that have died and will also provide support and solace for those experiencing grief.

Find out more at Dumfries Get Together’s Meetup page.