Rituals of Remembering: Looking Towards Light

In March we will kick off the 2025 garden season with a bonfire and intention setting. This event falls close to the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (March 20), when day and night are equal in length and we begin to move into the longer days of Summer.

As we move into towards the sunny days and abundance of the Summer garden season, we invite our community to take stock of the cooler season and set goals and intentions for the coming warmer and brighter days. These can be personal goals, community goals, gardening goals, or goals towards cherishing relationships with our loved ones both living and passed.

We will then write these words on biodegradable paper and place them within small pots to create our own tomato, pepper, or basil seedlings which can grow at home, and remind you of your goals, through the summer season!
All ages are welcome—we will have a youth facilitator doing an age-appropriate parallel activity with children. Please let us know if you will bring your kids!

Please reach out via Contact the organizer feature with any questions about the event or accessibilty.

The April — June Rituals of Remembering events are generously made possible by the Healing Illinois grant.

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Rituals of Remembering is a discussion and creative activity-based workshop series that aims to provide a space and structure for participants to open and deepen our experience of grief, loss, and remembering beyond the death of those we love, using the garden space as the central theme. Each month will focus on a particular theme and related activity and invite participants to discuss rituals of remembering together in a group setting. Each activity will also give opportunities to incorporate remembering directly into the garden space, so that community members may return to remember in the garden beyond the workshop series. Events can be attended individually or as a series one Saturday a month in April, May, June, August, and October 2025.

This event series resented in partnership with , , , and Healing Illinois.

Artist/Facilitator: (she/her) is an interdisciplinary visual artist, poet, mother, and facilitator living in Chicago. Her work explores grief, rituals, ecology, and Motherhood. Alyssa’s social practice involves participatory community gatherings including those for mothers in the arts. In addition to her creative work, Alyssa works as an arts administrator for music performance organizations and is an avid gardener, and loves exploring the world with her kid.

Youth Facilitator: is a multi-disciplinary performing artist and educator living in Chicago, IL. She is a facilitator and advocate for inclusion and accessibility. She grew up in Cleveland, OH and earned a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Dance. Gaby continues to find connections between both realms of study through her practices, performances, and teachings. Being outside and tending to nature brings her much joy and she is happy to share in community.

Honoring the Legacy of our friend and collaborator Ms. Bertha Purnell who transitioned on Janurary 18th, 2025.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

4910 W Quincy St, 4910 West Quincy Street, Chicago, United States