Calgary's First Death Cafe

Death Café. It’s just like any other café; coffee, cake, but with a little something extra – death. 

Kurtynik and Beecher's Mr.Reaper

 

Well, conversation about death.

 

Calgary’s first ever Death Café is on Sunday, March 10, from 2 to 5 PM at Self-Connection Books on Bowness Road, NW.

 

The event will kick off with the internationally acclaimed short film, “Mr. Reaper’s Really Bad Morning”, with an introduction by Calgarian filmmakers Kevin Kurytnik and Carol Beecher to their innovative animation.

 

Following the screening, guests will be invited to participate in an open, free-flowing conversation facilitated by Wendy Kurchak, who is certified through the Association of Death Education and Counselling, and has over ten years’ experience in the field.

 

It’s the stimulating, thought-provoking discussions which are the draw for the hundreds of people, from all walks of life, attending the Death Cafés sweeping the United Kingdom, Canada, the US, and now into Brazil. In relaxing settings, the spontaneous topics are directed by the participants, making each Death Café a new and enlightening experience.

 

Jon Underwood, the UK Death Café guru, sees these events as a platform for “increasing awareness of death with a view toward helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.”  He believes that if people would explore and discover new perspectives about death and dying, and feel more comfortable about the inevitable, “the world would be a much, much better place.”

 

Lizzy Miles, a social worker and hospice volunteer in Ohio, has spearheaded the Death Café experience in the United States. She says,

 

“The beauty of the Death Café is that it brings people together who want to talk about the “taboo” topic of death (and all that it entails).  Many of the attendees reported in their surveys that in addition to telling their own story, they found comfort in hearing the stories of others.  The participants who have come to the Death Café events have a wide variety of backgrounds.  The diversity of experiences, beliefs and opinions contributes to the in-depth discussions that we have.”

 

Interesting concept, isn’t it? Coffee, home baking, the opportunity to talk freely about death, and maybe even make the world, or at least Calgary, a much better place. 

 

There is no charge for this event; however, participants do need to reserve their seat for the café. Email Wendy at wendymariek@gmail.com with your name and a phone number by Wednesday, March 6.

 

For stories and more information about Death Café, check out the websites at http://www.deathcafe.com/ or http://impermanenceatwork.org/index.html.