The 5th Annual Before I Die NM Festival Expands to Multiple Markets > National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)
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The 5th Annual Before I Die NM Festival Expands to Multiple Markets

July 09, 2021

Want the public to visit your funeral home without experiencing a death in the family? Be one of the local partner funeral homes in the Before I Die Festival, a combination of in-person/online events being held Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, 2021. 

The KIP Award-winning event is being held for the fifth consecutive year in New Mexico. The Before I Die Festival brings together entertaining and educational elements to start conversations and help people plan ahead for end-of-life. In 2021, the festival concept breaks new ground with opportunities for funeral homes and cemeteries in other markets to simultaneously participate.

New Mexico Festival in-person events will take place in Albuquerque, pandemic restrictions permitting. Partner funeral homes and cemeteries in other cities and states can join with one- or two-day on-site events with their attendees joining virtual events online. 

“The pandemic brought mortality to top-of-mind awareness and has prompted some people to pre-plan their funeral arrangements. The Before I Die Festival encourages more people to engage by putting the ‘fun’ in funeral planning and avoiding the trauma of having to plan at-need,” said Gail Rubin, CT, pioneering death educator and coordinator of the festival.

Festival event topics include estate planning, preparing advance medical directives, pre-need funeral planning, obituary writing, downsizing, the “woo-woo” side of death, and other issues. Special events include:

  • Daily Death Cafe conversations about mortality issues and questions, in-person and online.
  • Behind the Scenes Tours of funeral homes and cemeteries.
  • Lively Panel Discussions by end-of-life experts, both in-person and online.

Events in New Mexico and at funeral homes in partner cities will be recorded and shared online in perpetuity on YouTube. Videos of both in-person sessions and virtual online sessions will be posted to the Before I Die Festival YouTube Channel after the festival.

Festival coordinator Gail Rubin will mentor funeral home and cemetery staff on how to put together and promote local events. More information about the Before I Die NM Festival is available at www.BeforeIDieNM.com. 

Festival Sponsors 

These companies and organizations make the Before I Die NM Festival possible.

  • A Good Goodbye – Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®, puts the “fun” in funeral planning. www.AGoodGoodbye.com
  • Compassion & Choices – offering care and choice at the end of life. www.CompassionAndChoices.org 
  • Daniels Family Funerals & Cremations, Fairview Memorial Park, Gabaldon Mortuary, Sandia Memory Gardens and Vista Verde Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
  • EstatePros LLC – offering professional dispersal of personal possessions due to a move, illness, or death. www.EstateProsNM.com 
  • Final Exit Network – educating about and defending the right to choose at end-of-life. www.FinalExitNetwork.org
  • French Funerals & Cremations and Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
  • GatheringUs – providing in-person and virtual memorial services and online memorial pages www.GatheringUs.com 
  • Keeper – keeping memories alive with online tributes to preserve, celebrate and share life legacies. www.MyKeeper.com
  • Morris Hall PLLC estate planning attorneys in New Mexico and Arizona. www.MorrisTrust.com 
  • Remembering A Life – your guide to honoring a life well lived, from planning a tribute to mourning a loved one. www.RememberingALife.com 
  • Retirement Extender® – providing investment management services with a personalized strategy recommendation based on your needs and objectives. www.RetirementExtender.com 

A portion of the sponsorship proceeds and ticket sales from the Before I Die NM Festival will be donated to 501(c)(3) charitable partner, Historic Fairview Cemetery, established in Albuquerque in 1881. The cemetery is the final resting place of 12,000 individuals, with remarkable stories reflecting the history of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the United States (www.HistoricFairviewCemeteryABQ.org).

The festival is coordinated by Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and the Doyenne of Death®. Festival sponsorship opportunities are still available by calling Gail Rubin at 505-265-7215.

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