The state’s oldest charitable organization has teamed up with one of the newest to offer a community gathering focused on end-of-life care discussions. The Telling the Bees Fest: a Chicagoland Deathcare Education & Resource Festival is organized by Wally’s Hearth and Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care. This event aims to create conversations about death, grief, and community support.
Wally’s Hearth, a recent 501(c)(3) organization, is collaborating with Caledonia Senior Living, supported by the Chicago Scots, founded in 1845. The festival derives its name from a Celtic and British Isles custom of sharing news with household bees, symbolizing community and connectedness.
Tiffany Johnson, co-founder of Wally’s Hearth, explained the symbolism of ‘telling the bees’ as a shared experience in life’s big moments. Gus Noble, president of Caledonia Senior Living, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the interconnectedness of people and nature. The care facility, in existence since 1910, historically included livestock and bees, which Noble suggested reintroducing.
The festival will occur from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 12th at Caledonia Senior Living’s grounds in North Riverside. Open to the public, the event seeks volunteers and attendees to register through [email protected].
Wally’s Hearth, a social model hospice home, aims to give guests a peaceful end-of-life experience without cost, alleviating family burdens. This model is practiced globally but is new to Illinois. Both organizations joined forces after discussing opening Wally’s Hearth’s first home at Caledonia Senior Living, due to shared values despite logistical challenges.
Noble and Johnson noted that end-of-life planning is often neglected, leading to family strife. This festival aims to educate and connect community members with resources. Topics include traditional and emerging after-life arrangements like water cremation and green burial.
Presentations, including musical performances from the Threshold Choir, will provide examples of support services. Cultural elements like bagpipes and Native American tunes will be incorporated to honor various traditions. The festival offers a chance to plan and discuss end-of-life matters outside a crisis context, promoting peace and connection among attendees.
The festival will be held on Caledonia Senior Living’s five-acre campus, with areas for reflection and open discussions led by experts. Noble highlighted the importance of distinguishing hospice from palliative care and encourages families to be proactive in planning.
Donations will support current and future festivals, with the hope of making this an annual event. Noble stressed the relief a plan provides, sharing his experience with his father’s well-prepared funeral. Johnson aims for participants to leave the festival with actionable steps, enabling them to engage in conversations about death and legacy.
The event symbolizes community unity and support, drawing on the folk custom of ‘telling the bees’ to foster open dialogues and planning. It’s a pathway for expressing love and reducing the stigma around end-of-life discussions, offering an opportunity for meaningful and creative engagement with one’s own life’s end.
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