Over the last few months, I’ve been part of a team working together to create the next Kicking the Bucket Festival in Oxford. The last one was in 2016, which unfortunately passed me by! However, last summer at a funeral, I was walking back to the reception centre with Liz Rothschild who’d been the celebrant, and I found myself agreeing to explore whether I could find time to help create KTB 2023, which was to be a weekend in November. And the short answer was, “Yes!”

Since then, the scope of the festival has grown and grown, and our events pop up throughout October, before our hub weekend – online on Friday 3rd November, to allow access to people who may find it difficult to attend a venue in Oxford, and in person events on Saturday 4th at the Friends’ Meeting House in St Giles, Oxford. The festival concludes on Sunday 5th November. Scheduling is still not finalised, and new events are being created all the time, but for a peek at how things are shaping up, do take a look at Kicking the Bucket Festival 2023. Our programme is wide and varied, and we’re focusing on an inclusive approach.

I’ve advocated starting conversations around death and dying for a long time, and this festival absolutely espouses the idea that we are all mortal, and let’s explore rather than hide from it. That said, full respect for anyone who doesn’t wish to do that – it may be a choice for any number of reasons. But if you’re curious, why not head over to the website and see if any of the events intrigue you enough to come along! I’ll be there all weekend 🙂