A gathering at a Death Café includes live people, often strangers, gathering to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death.  Death Cafés are group directed discussions of death with no agenda, no objectives and no themes. They are a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session. The objective is 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives'. According to founder Jon Underwood from London England.

Craftsbury welcomes it’s first Death Café at the Craftsbury Public Library at the end of August. There have been two other gathering spots in Montpelier And Johnson but this is new to the Northeast Kindgdom. Death Cafés have spread quickly since 2011 and are now located at cafés, houses, libraries, cemeteries and just about any other place you can imagine across Europe, North America and Australasia. As of today, there have been approximately 5,000 Death Cafes in 51 countries.

The charming Craftsbury Public Library will be venue to this first Death café and will serve tea, coffee and cake true to the typical gatherings.  This particular event will be hosted by Craftsbury resident Anne-Marie Keppel. Keppel has training as a nurse assistant, is currently a Hospice volunteer, and is enrolled in deathcare school. She is also training to be a Celebrant where she hopes to assist with end-of-life care and details and to conduct funerals and memorials for people and pets.

Craftsbury Public Library is located at 12 Church Lane on Craftsbury Common. The Death Café will be held on Thursday August 31 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Like all events at the Library, this is free and open to all.