{"id":37883,"date":"2017-10-14T15:50:18","date_gmt":"2017-10-14T21:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=37883"},"modified":"2017-10-14T15:50:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T21:50:18","slug":"equinox-vigil-a-tribute-and-a-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2017\/10\/14\/equinox-vigil-a-tribute-and-a-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Equinox Vigil a tribute, and a celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he\u00a0Autumn Equinox Vigil<\/a> held in Calgary\u2019s Union Cemetery on Sept. 23 honoured the deceased and celebrated the living.<\/p>\n

F<\/span>or the last six years, Calgarians have gathered on the Autumn Equinox to create a time for tribute and reflection in remembering those who have died in the previous year.<\/p>\n

Yvonne Kustec, the Lantern Procession Artist at the Equinox Vigil, said that there\u2019s no better way for Calgarians from all communities to come together then at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty incredible,\u201d said Kustec.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople feel so comfortable here because they know that the person next to them is also grieving some kind of loss.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vigil creates a safe place to mourn and commemorate lost loved ones and I think that is really an emotional turning point for a lot of the people who attend,\u201d said Kustec.<\/p>\n

The production manager of the Equinox Vigil, Jodie Stevens, said the importance of community engagement is one of the reasons she\u2019s so involved with the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very grateful to be a part of something so inspiring,\u201d said Stevens.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see people come together like this is very rewarding for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cMourning a loss is never easy and the fact that strangers can come together to help each other heal in such a unique and meaningful way is why I love what I do,\u201d said Stevens.<\/p>\n

Stevens also said that attendance has grown significantly each year since the first Equinox Vigil in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vigil is truly becoming one of Calgary\u2019s most sacred traditions,\u201d said Stevens.<\/p>\n

Nancy Jo Cullen, a poet preforming at the Equinox Vigil, said she contributes to the event by helping people deal with grief through her poetry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many talents at the vigil every year,\u201d said Cullen.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom dancers and singers to artists and poets, we all just want to help make a difference for those who are mourning a loss in some shape or form.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy poems focus on the worrying conditions of modern living and how grief can infiltrate our daily lives,\u201d said Cullen.<\/p>\n

A newcomer at the event, Timothy McIntosh, said the Equinox Vigil gave him an opportunity to properly mourn with people who understand what he is going through.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad passed away last March,\u201d said McIntosh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been really hard on me because I didn\u2019t just lose my dad, I lost my best friend as well.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard about this event in the past but I\u2019ve never really had a reason to come,\u201d said McIntosh.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that my dad has passed though, I think that I\u2019ll continue to come for as long as they\u2019ll have me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s comforting to know that many of the people here have gone through the same thing that I\u2019m dealing with right now,\u201d said McIntosh.<\/p>\n

McIntosh said that he could tell how much time and effort went into planning the Equinox Vigil and said that he appreciates everyone who helped in creating the event.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Grey Woman:<\/strong> A dancer at the Autumn Equinox Vigil poses as part of an art display in Calgary at Union Cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The dancer was only one among many who were preforming at the event. (Photo by Kylee Williams\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Autumn Equinox Vigil held in Calgary\u2019s Union Cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 honoured the deceased and celebrated the living. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":454,"featured_media":37885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Equinox Vigil","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9,1109,1106],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-city","8":"category-life","9":"category-mental-health","10":"category-physical-health-and-wellness","11":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37883"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38476,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37883\/revisions\/38476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}