One thing is certain–everybody dies. The Funeral Consumers Alliance North Carolina (FCANC) is helping make the inevitable less intimidating by hosting Death Expo 2022.
Free and open to the public, Death Expo 2022 will feature topics, speakers, panelists and exhibitors on death and dying, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., at The Moseley Center, Elon University, 100 Campus Drive in Elon, North Carolina.
FCANC is a statewide, all-volunteer, nonprofit organization focused on education and advocacy to protect consumers’ rights in choosing meaningful, affordable funerals.
This day-long event seeks to remove the stigma of death by providing information and resources to anyone exploring and planning one’s own final arrangements or those of a loved one.
“Professionals, experts and volunteers within the deathcare industry will inspire, inform, and provide the public with everything necessary for their environmental, cost-friendly end-of-life needs” says Sara Williams, FCANC president. “This is an opportunity to meet local death doulas and learn about aquamation, natural burials, organ donations and more.”
Organizers are asking those who plan to attend the free Death Expo to register at www.funeralsNC.org. Pre-orders for an optional paid box lunch ($10) are also available upon registration.
Keynote presentations, panel discussions and exhibitors will demonstrate the latest options and trends in the deathcare industry. “We all need to think about and plan for our deaths just like we do for other events in our lives such as births, graduations and weddings,” says Williams.
Death Expo Speakers include:
- A special message from Caitlin Doughty, a Los Angeles mortician, New York Times best-selling author, blogger, YouTube sensation and advocate for death acceptance and the reform of Western funeral industry practices.
- Mallory McDuff, professor of Environmental Education at Warren Wilson College, and author of Our Last Best Act.
- Tanya Marsh, professor of law at Wake Forest University and author of The Law of Human Remains.
The panel discussion What Will I Do with My Body When I Die? will consider options other than burials and cremations and features panelists Eric Bester, Clay-Barnette Funeral Home, North Carolina’s ONLY aquamation facility; Anne Weston, Green Burial Project; and Dianne Person, director of Elon University’s Anatomical Gift Program.
The Dishin’ with the Death Doulas panel discussion will feature local death doulas and highlight their roles in assisting with the dying process.
Event participants are encouraged to ask questions, pick up information and shop with vendors and exhibitors who will be onsite. Handmade caskets and shrouds, music and songs at the bedside of the dying, as well as sustainable and environmentally friendly funeral and burial options will be displayed.