Tree of Remembrance honours those gone
The 24th annual Tree of Remembrance celebration held by Cowichan Valley Hospice to help those who've lost loved ones during the past year is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3. Starting time is 6 p.m. outside the entrance to Cowichan District Hospital.
A yearly partnership event between Cowichan Valley Hospice and Cowichan District Hospital, this event offers an evening of gentle togetherness and the chance to help to light up the tree in front of the hospital in memory of loved ones.
"The holiday season can be a difficult time for those who have lost someone," said Cowichan Valley Hospice client services coordinator, Shelley Kuecks.
"This is an evening for the bereaved to honour the memory of their loved one in a meaningful way, with others who understand how hard it can be."
Why not go and share your presence with others or just quietly contemplate in a safe and nurturing ceremony?
Many people find significant comfort in it and return year after year.
This free event includes poems, songs from the Threshold Singers and choristers from Queen Margaret's School as well as refreshments in the hospital cafeteria.
Take a trip to Christmas Past at Duncan museum
The Cowichan Valley Museum and Archives is bringing Christmas Past alive during the Duncan Christmas Kick-off this Friday, Nov. 28.
Head to the train station from 5:30-7:45 p.m. to see museum volunteers dressed in period costumes and assuming identities from Cowichan's past. They will be ensconced throughout the museum displays.
In the King's Daughters' Hospital exhibit, Nurse Ellen Lukaitis works to save her patient - a young woman afflicted with a mysterious illness - which she has to do by the end of the evening. Mrs. Ford, standing in for her husband, Post Master Mr. Ford, is working at the post office, stamping copies of archival postcards of winters past for visitors.
There will also be a Christmas craft for kids to do, at a suggested donation of $1. If you can't get to the museum Friday night, the Christmas train display is on until Dec. 19, and features a model of the heritage designated Duncan Train Station and photographs of Duncan in decades past.
The museum is open Wednesday to Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturdays 1-4 p.m. Admission is by donation.