Helping a Grieving Friend: Join Me at the Good Mourning Festival
Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto
What does it really mean to show up for someone who is grieving?
It’s knowing what to say when there are no right words. Remembering their person long after everyone else has moved on. Checking in months or even years later. Learning how to be present without trying to fix something that cannot be fixed.
On Saturday, October 24, I’ll be at the Good Mourning Festival at Evergreen Brick Works with two opportunities to explore how we can better support the people we love through grief.
Whether you’re supporting a grieving friend, family member, colleague, or partner, I’d love for you to join me.
Attend a Workshop: How to Help a Grieving Friend
Two sessions available: 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Have you ever wanted to help someone who is grieving but worried about saying the wrong thing? Have you wondered how to support them beyond the first few weeks, when the calls and messages from everyone else begin to fade?
You’re not alone.
In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore practical ways to support someone through the long haul of grief. Drawing on the principles of grief allyship, we’ll talk about how to listen, remember, check in, and show up long after the memorials are over.
You don’t need to have all the right words. You don’t need to make their grief better. You just need to learn how to be there.
Workshop details
When: 11:30 a.m. or 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 24
Where: Blakes Room, Evergreen Brick Works
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: Free, with registration required
Choose your workshop time and register:
Explore the Grief Ally Garden
Drop in anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
What if we thought about supporting grieving people as something we could grow together?
The Grief Ally Garden is an interactive installation inviting you to explore what it means to be a grief ally: someone who is willing to show up for a grieving person with compassion, curiosity, and care.
As you wander through the garden, you’ll discover simple ideas for becoming a more thoughtful grief ally and have an opportunity to reflect on the unique skills, resources, and relationships you can bring to someone you care about.
Then, you’ll be invited to contribute your own idea to the garden.
Throughout the day, leaves, petals, and words of wisdom from festival visitors will be added to the installation, allowing it to grow and evolve with every person who participates.
Every contribution is a reminder that supporting grieving people isn’t something we have to figure out alone. We can learn from one another, share what we know, and build a community that makes room for grief.
Garden details
When: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday, October 24
Where: Koerner Gardens, Evergreen Brick Works
Cost: Free
Registration: Not required. Drop in whenever you like.
Come for a few minutes or stay awhile. Explore, reflect, and leave a little wisdom for the next person who visits.
Come Spend the Day With Us
The Good Mourning Festival brings grief and mourning out of the shadows and into the light. It’s an opportunity to connect with others, explore different ways of expressing grief, and make space for conversations that are often missing from our everyday lives.
You don’t need to be grieving yourself to attend. You might be supporting someone you love, learning how to show up for a colleague, or simply wanting to be part of a community that understands grief is part of being human.
Come to a workshop, visit the Grief Ally Garden, or explore the festival and see where the day takes you.
I hope to see you there!
Event details
Saturday, October 24, 2026
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Evergreen Brick Works
550 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Explore the full Good Mourning Festival program
About Aly Bird
Aly Bird is a Registered Psychotherapist and Certified EMDR Therapist who specializes in grief, traumatic bereavement, and the many ways death changes the lives of the people left behind. She is also the author of Grief Ally: Helping People You Love Cope with Death, Loss, and Grief.
Through her therapy practice, workshops, and grief education, Aly helps people better understand grief and learn how to support one another through it.
Her work is grounded in a simple belief: we don’t need to fix grief to make a difference. We need to learn how to show up.
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