BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Area Hospice's 16th annual Memorial Planting Service is Sunday, June 2, at 1:30 p.m. at the Brattleboro Area Hospice Memorial Garden at Living Memorial Park on Guilford Street.
The public is invited to plant small annuals, contribute longer-lasting perennials, paint memorial messages on stones to be placed in the garden, and listen to beautiful music, all to honor and remember loved ones who have died.
This event is informal and can be an especially meaningful experience for children. The simple service includes Mike Fleming on mountain dulcimer, a responsive reading, and short musical performance by the Hallowell Singers (www.hallowell-singers.org).
Light refreshments will be served, and plants are provided. If you would like to bring something to plant, please let Connie Baxter know at 802-257-0775, ext. 104 or [email protected] so organizers can plan the garden space accordingly.
As participants plant, the names of those who have died in the past year will be read aloud. To add a name to the reading, call the Hospice office at 802-257-0775.
Dress is casual. The service will take place in anything up to a light rain; should the weather worsen, the service will be postponed to Tuesday, June 4, at 5 p.m.
A limited number of chairs are available, so those wishing to be seated are advised to bring a folding chair or blanket.
Brattleboro Area Hospice, founded in 1979, is one of only 200 volunteer non-profit hospices left in the United States. It provides volunteer-staffed programs to dying and grieving community members and was founded on the belief that no one should die alone. Services are free of charge.