The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival will take place at different locations each day in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The festival has entertaining and educational elements that get people to discuss end-of-life issues and plan ahead. There will be two days of preview events on October 24 and October 26, and the main festival events take place November 1-4, 2024.
Most sessions will be available online as hybrid events, allowing audiences to participate in-person and via Zoom. This schedule will be updated as more speakers and events are confirmed. This schedule is current as of August 29, 2024.
Register Here
Thursday, October 24, 2024: Preview Event
Millennial Morticians with ABQ Brews: Death Doula Edition
Location: Tractor Brewing Wells Park, 1800 4th Street NW, ABQ, NM 87102
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Free event! Buy a drink and ask questions of death doulas and young funeral directors during this evening at Tractor Brewing Wells Park location. Stick around for the film Just Buried, a comedic look at how the owner and staff of a funeral home in a small town stays in business. Here’s a clip from the film:
Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.
If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.
Saturday, October 26, 2024: Before I Die Festival Preview Event
Death is Not a Dirty Word Resource Fair
Location: Unity Spiritual Center, 9800 Candelaria Rd. NE, ABQ NM 87112
9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Albuquerque is blessed with incredible resources to support end-of-life planning and care. Come meet your local resources, from home funerals to green burial, sacred space to legal documents, and everything in between. Free, refreshments provided.
Saturday, October 26, 2024: Before I Die Festival Preview Event
Murder and Mayhem Cemetery Tour
Location: Historic Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale Blvd. SE, ABQ, NM 87109
1:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. Murder and Mayhem Tour Wear your walking shoes for this fascinating tour of Historic Fairview Cemetery! Meet some of the “permanent residents” who died because of murder or mayhem. This is a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization supporting the cemetery, founded in 1881. (Register for the festival at the $80 level)
Saturday, October 26, 2024: Before I Die Festival Preview Event
Death Over Dinner Event
Location: TBA
6:30 p.m. Join Gail Rubin, CT, The Doyenne of Death and Before I Die Festival Coordinator, for an intimate dinner and discussion (register for the Festival at $100 level).
Friday, November 1, 2024: Before I Die NM Festival Day One
- Location: Passages International Headquarters, 4516 Anaheim Ave. NE, ABQ, NM 87113
- Theme: Eco-Friendly Funerals
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Check in/coffee
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Welcome by Darren Crouch, president of Passages International and the Green Burial Council, discussion of eco-friendly funerals and Etern.Life geo tag program.
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Tim Rogers, Better Place Forests presentation.
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Tour of Passages International headquarters, lunch with Death Cafe discussion.
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Panel discussion: Desert, Forest, Sea, Etc. – Eco-Friendly Disposition Options (panelists TBA)
2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Demonstration of shrouding process.
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Bamboo and Jute Casket Assembly Contest.
November 1 Evening Event: Mortality Movies Showing and Discussion
Location: Death Doula Professionals, 1724 Moon Street NE, ABQ, NM 87112
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Watch a film related to death, grief, funerals and end-of-life issues, and stick around for an insightful conversation. Film to be named later.
Saturday, November 2, 2024: Before I Die NM Festival Day Two
- Location: Bosque Trails Hospice, 303 San Mateo Blvd. NE, Suite 104, ABQ, NM 87108
- Theme: Hospice 101
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Check in/coffee
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Hospice 101 and Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) with staff of Bosque Trails Hospice.
10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Hospice experiences with Gail Rubin and other speakers.
Noon – 1:00 p.m. Lunch with Death Cafe discussion/Barbara Karnes New Rules of Hospice video.
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Grief Insights from Beyond the Veil with noted psychic Tammy Holmes.
2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Veterans’ Care and Funeral Benefits with Bosque Trails Social Workers.
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Five Wishes workshop – introduction to the Five Wishes form and opportunity to fill out the document.
November 2 Evening Event: Mortality Movies Showing and Discussion
Location: Death Doula Professionals, 1724 Moon Street NE, ABQ, NM 87112
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Watch a film related to death, grief, funerals and end-of-life issues, and stick around for an insightful conversation. Film to be named later.
Sunday, November 3, 2024: Before I Die NM Festival Day Three
- Location: TBA
- Theme: Preparing for the Inevitable
Hours: Check in at 8:30 a.m., events 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. “Let’s Get Ready! Everything You Need to Know Before You Go” with Dr. Kimberly Harms. Her talk explores the need to go beyond traditional estate planning and get our affairs in order emotionally. Acquire actionable steps for developing an Emotional Insurance Plan, and learn practical strategies for fostering forgiveness, reconciliation, and emotional healing within personal relationships. Her latest book is “Are You Ready? How to Build a Legacy to Die For.”
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. TBA
11:30 – 1:00 p.m. Death Café conversation over lunch – an opportunity to discuss mortality concerns, openly and honestly.
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. “Shed Before You’re Dead” Downsizing panel discussion with Kathy B. Dempsey, RN, MED, CSP and local organizers on the benefits of culling our massive amounts of stuff and ways to do it.
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. “Would You Hold a Living Funeral for Yourself?” with Kathy Dempsey, who is also a death doula who has helped clients hold their own funerals while they are still alive.
November 3 Evening Event: Mortality Movies Showing and Discussion
Location: Death Doula Professionals, 1724 Moon Street NE, ABQ, NM 87112
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Watch a film related to death, grief, funerals and end-of-life issues, and stick around for an insightful conversation. Film to be named later.
Monday, November 4, 2024: Before I Die NM Festival Day Four
- Location: South Valley Multi-Purpose Senior Center, 2008 Larrazolo Rd. SW, ABQ, NM 87105
- Theme: Unexpected Deaths
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Check in/coffee
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Indigent cremation and burial in Bernalillo County, Diane Chavez, Operations Manager for General Services, Bernalillo County.
10:30 a.m. – noon The Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) in New Mexico, Lauren Dvorscak, Deputy Chief of OMI.
Noon to 1:00 p.m. Lunch and Death Cafe
1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. TBA
2:00 – 2:50 p.m. TBA
3:00 – 3:50 p.m. Panel on Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) with Sherry Burns, Deborah Dugan, and Leah Becker from End of Life Options New Mexico
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. “Peace of Mind” with Karla Barela Lucero, Advance Planning Consultant, French Funerals and Cremations
November 4 Evening Event: Mortality Movies Showing and Discussion
Location: Death Doula Professionals, 1724 Moon Street NE, ABQ, NM 87112
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Watch a film related to death, grief, funerals and end-of-life issues, and stick around for an insightful conversation. Film to be named later.
Choose your registration level:
- $20 – A token of thanks for coordinating the Festival, includes a goodie bag with A Good Goodbye DVD set.
- $40 – Includes a copy of the book, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die.
- $60 – Includes a T-shirt from A Good Goodbye (Sizes M-L-XL-XXL)
- $80 – Includes registration for the Murder and Mayhem Cemetery Tour October 26.
- $100 – Includes Death Over Dinner event on October 26.
Register online for all events at: https://beforeidiefestivals.com/product/before-i-die-nm-festival-registration/
Thank you to our sponsors!
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
- End of Life Options New Mexico: EndOfLifeOptionsNM.org
- French Funerals & Cremations: FrenchFunerals.com
- Keeper Memorials: MyKeeper.com
- Passages International: PassagesInternational.com