The seventh annual Before I Die New Mexico Festival will take place in Albuquerque from November 1-4, 2024, with preview events on October 24 and 26. With entertaining and educational elements to discuss and plan for end-of-life issues, this festival is a must-attend event for your 100% guaranteed mortality.
The festival offers outside-the-box activities and nationally recognized speakers at locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with online Zoom access options. Highlights include:
- Millennial Morticians with ABQ Brews: Death Doula Edition at Tractor Brewing (Oct. 24),
- Death is Not a Dirty Word Resource Fair (Oct. 26),
- Murder and Mayhem Tour of Historic Fairview Cemetery (Oct. 26) and
- Mortality Movies each night of the festival, with feature films that explore death, grief, funerals and end-of-life topics with conversation afterwards. (Nov. 1-4).
Gail Rubin, festival coordinator and The Doyenne of Death®, has been holding Before I Die Festivals in New Mexico since 2017. “While it won’t kill you to discuss death, I’ve had five family members die over the past year and a half. I can tell you from experience planning ahead makes a difficult time much easier to handle, and it saves money, too.”
Each day of the festival features a theme: Eco-Friendly Funerals (Nov. 1), Hospice 101 (Nov. 2), Planning for the Inevitable (Nov. 3), and Unexpected Deaths (Nov. 4). Morning coffee and Death Cafe conversations over lunch are included at each day’s programming. Nationally recognized festival speakers include:
- Renowned psychic Tammy J. Holmes on “Grief Insights from Beyond the Veil,”
- Dr. Kimberly Harms on “Let’s Get Ready! Everything You Need to Know Before You Go,” on preparing our emotional estate plans, and,
- Kathy B. Dempsey on “Shed Before You’re Dead” and “Would You Hold a Living Funeral for Yourself?”
Other Before I Die New Mexico Festival speakers will address topics such as indigent deaths, green funerals, Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) in New Mexico, veterans benefits, The Five Wishes, and other topics. Daytime speaker sessions will be available on Zoom thanks to Keeper Memorials. The online events are also available through the Reimagine website, devoted to reimagining loss, adversity and mortality, transforming life’s challenges into meaning and growth.
Tickets for the festival range from $20 to $80. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the nonprofit organization Historic Fairview Cemetery, to support the restoration of the grounds and to share the history of Albuquerque through the lives of the people buried there.
For more information about the Before I Die New Mexico Festival, including ticket details, the schedule of events, and featured speakers, please visit: https://beforeidiefestivals.com/2024-before-i-die-nm-festival-event-schedule/
The Before I Die New Mexico Festival is made possible by the support of:
- A Good Goodbye: AGoodGoodbye.com
- Bernalillo County Indigent Program: https://www.bernco.gov/general-services/about-the-program/
- Better Place Forests: BetterPlaceForests.com
- Bosque Trails Hospice: BosqueTrailsHospice.com
- Conscious Crossroads End of Life Services: DeathDoulaDanielle.com
- Death Doula Professionals: DeathDoulaProfessionals.com
- End of Life Options New Mexico: EndOfLifeOptionsNM.org
- French Funerals & Cremations: FrenchFunerals.com
- Keeper Memorials: MyKeeper.com
- Passages International: PassagesInternational.com
For media inquiries, interviews, or press passes, please contact:
Gail Rubin, Festival Coordinator: Gail@AGoodGoodbye.com | Office: 505-265-7215 | Cell: 505-363-7514