Discussions about death and dying are often uncomfortable and rare, something that Anne Marie Hartford and Karen Lake are hoping to change.
On Thursday, the pair co-chaired their second Death Expo, the first since 2019 in New Maryland, N.B.
In an effort to destigmatize the topic, the day-long event drew in a multitude of resources to plan end-of-life care, end-of-life wishes, and learn about how to prepare.
“Everyone’s at a different age and stage of their planning and where they are in life, and we try and offer a good cross-section, so that people can get the answers they need when they come,” said Lake.
Across the New Maryland Centre stood a dozen experts, including lawyers, funeral home staff, and hospice care workers, to name a few.
At one table, set up by Gallery 78, a private art gallery, were urns in different shapes, colours and sizes for those who plan to be cremated.
“So it’s really nice to show them our inventory, and they get to find that perfect one that represents their loved one that has passed, so it’s nice,” remarked Nikki Theriault, the curator at Gallery 78.
Hartford and Lake met at a Death Café, and came to the understanding members of the community lacked the answers to questions about death and dying.
“There’s a big gap,” said Hartford, adding “We recognized from the death cafes there was a serious need for information.”
According to Hartford, their Death Expo is the only of its kind East of Montreal.
Lake said one of the main reasons they put on the event is because it gets people talking about death.
“Because when you talk about it, it just makes it a little more normalized, it’s okay to say the word death,” she said.
After cancelling the event for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake and Hartford said they plan to continue hosting the Death Expo as an annual event for years to come.
If it continues to carry traction, they said, it may even be hosted in other communities across New Brunswick.
“It’s not wrong to die and it’s not a bad thing,” said Hartford.
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