News & Events
Tree Dedication Ceremony
Â
McInnis & Holloway would be pleased to have your family and friends attend a special event held in honour of every person whose funeral was entrusted to us since August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009. A tree dedication ceremony will be held on:
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2009 - Ceremony 2:00 P.M. (Rain OR Shine!) FISH CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK – LaFarge Meadows (South of Sikome Lake and Highway 22X)
LaFarge Meadows is in a quiet, secluded area of Fish Creek Park, south of Sikome Lake nestled on the west bank of the Bow River. Due to the size of LaFarge Meadows there is quite a distance to walk to view the trees planted for this year’s ceremony, approximately 1.5 km.
The Tree Dedication Ceremony will be held at the entrance to LaFarge Meadows in a clearing that is closest to the parking area.
McInnis and Holloway will provide transportation for the elderly and disabled. We ask for your patience as we expect several thousand people to attend this memorial event.
Order of the Day
12:30 P.M. Shuttle Service Begins - McInnis and Holloway will provide transportation for the elderly and disabled from the parking lots to the Ceremony area. We ask for your patience as we expect several thousand people to attend this memorial event.
1:45 P.M. Musical Call – to gather for Tree Dedication Ceremony
2:00 P.M. Tree Dedication Ceremony
2:30 – 3:30 P.M. Shuttle Service
Seating
Lafarge Meadows is a natural forested area; therefore, we are not able to provide seating for all who attend. You may want to bring lawn chairs as seating will only be made available for the elderly and disabled.
Permanent Marker
We encourage you to look at the names listed in the handout you will receive on the day of the ceremony to ensure the spelling of your family member’s name is printed correctly. We will have volunteers located in the Information Tent by the permanent marker site to help you if you require changes. In the weeks following the ceremony, the names will be permanently inscribed, so all changes must be recorded by the day of the Ceremony.
Refreshments
Agapé Hospice will be serving hot and cold beverages. Drinks are available on a donation basis with all proceeds going to Agapé Hospice.
Parking
Parking spaces are available in Sikome Lake (Boat Launch, South Sikome Lake, North Sikome Lake and Hull’s Wood) parking lots. Our volunteers, wearing lime green vests, will be throughout the park to direct and/or assist you.
McInnis & Holloway will provide transportation for the elderly and disabled.  Handicap Parking is available at the Boat Launch parking area. We ask for your patience as we expect several thousand people to attend this memorial event.
Viewing of Trees
Lafarge Meadows is in a quiet, secluded area of Fish Creek Provincial Park, south of Sikome Lake nestled on the west bank of the Bow River. Due to the size of Lafarge Meadows there is quite a distance to walk to view the trees planted for this year’s ceremony, approximately 1.5 km.
For families that wish to view the trees, bookmarks will be placed on all the new trees and families may select a bookmark to keep as a memento.
Bookmarks will also be available at the permanent marker site for families who prefer not to walk the approximate 1.5 kilometers to view the trees. We will have volunteers located in the Information Tent by the permanent marker site to help you if you require bookmarks.
Additional bookmarks are available on a donation basis for families that would like more than one.
It will be difficult to locate people in the large crowd, we suggest you prearrange to meet other family members and friends at the Agapé Hospice Refreshment Tent.
Thank you for ensuring Lafarge Meadows remains a natural forest by not leaving any markers or mementos around the base of the trees.
We hope you will be able to join us.
North Memorial Forest
We have been working closely with the City of Calgary in an effort to agree upon a suitable new site for our North Memorial Forest. We want to ensure that our Memorial Forests are in a serene setting and are easily accessible. It is our hope that as they grow they become a place of comfort and remembrance for families.
It is with much disappointment that we report we have not been able to agree upon a suitable new location.
McInnis & Holloway now offers families the choice of two Memorial Forest® locations. Our Shaw’s Meadow Memorial Forest located in Fish Creek Provincial Park (in the south of Calgary) and our Fletcher Park Memorial Forest located in Airdrie, AB.
Funerals Becoming More Personal. By Dorothy Lipovenko, The Globe and Mail
Personalized funeral tributes, already a significant aspect of many services, are expected to broaden in popular appeal after Elton John lit a candle in the wind for Diana, Princess of Wales.Bereaved families have been customizing funerals or memorial services, particularly in young deaths from cancer or AIDS, to honour the deceased in ways that reflect their spirit and personality. Shaping the service this way also helps the grieving process.
Balloons are being released at grave rites; poetry is often read; a pet to which the deceased was close (often a dog) is brought to the visitation or funeral; strains of Louis Armstrong or Elvis can be heard by mourners, chosen to reflect the deceased's musical preference (as Mr. John was a favourite of Diana's).
But honouring the dead with unique tributes is not limited to the immediacy of the funeral. Yesterday in Calgary, more than 7,000 people attended a tree-dedication ceremony in Fish Creek Provincial Park, where more than 2,000 white spruce were planted this year in memory of family members.
The annual tree-planting dedication is a program the McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes in Calgary began offering patrons last year (at no charge). Families are encouraged to visit the site, which they can specially mark with a cedar plaque. Some families not only visit the tree year-round but water it in summer months.
"What a wonderful way to immortalize the people we love," said Ilona Campbell, a Calgary mother of three whose husband, Glen, died in a car accident last year. "This is something that my children and their children will see," she said in an interview from her home, referring to the tree that she and her children dedicated. Inset: Ernie Hagel, president of McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, points out a memorial tree in Fish Creek Park in Calgary that is a dedication from one of his customers. Personalized tributes are expected to increase after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
