September 2026
In this newsletter you’ll find:
The Music The Forest Holds Concert
Vermont Forest Cemetery 3rd Anniversary Celebration
Empty Arms and Good Beginnings Pregnancy Loss Event
After Death-care: How to legally care for your dead in Vermont
Tours
Cemetery Stewardship Day
The Music The Forest Holds |
 |
On Sunday September 27th from 2pm - 4pm please join us for The Music The Forest Holds, our first concert of 2026! Come listen to an acoustic set with local musicians Allison Mann and Colin McCaffrey. Colin and Allison started playing music together in 1992 and have renewed their musical collaboration periodically over the years, delivering their beautifully blended harmonies in folk and jazz tunes. This opportunity to play acoustically, with no amplification, is rare and delightful, and they are pleased to support Vermont Forest Cemetery. |
 |
Colin is an award-winning composer, a multi-instrumentalist, and sought-after music producer. He has a gift of understanding other musicians’ intentions and providing the musical and technical know-how to manifest those intentions. In 2019, Seven Days published this really wonderful story about Colin and his work. To read the article click here. |
 |
As a singer, movement/dance/yoga instructor, Allison’s body is her instrument. In the physical realm—as well as mental and emotional—her guiding principle is the development of strength, flexibility, alignment, grounding, clarity, and balance to create and support as free a flow of sound as possible. Using the energy these qualities provide, she interprets lyrics to convey each story, and aims to create sound that, in and of itself, fosters wholeness, healing, and joy. |
Following the concert there will be a Founder’s Tour led by founder and head cemeterian Michelle Hogle Acciavatti! Please make sure to RSVP today! |
3rd Anniversary Celebration
In between all our events, walk through the Sheepfold and join in conversation with representatives of: Journey with Compassion, Camp Knock Knock, Grief Space, see the Mourning Cloak by Black Cat Atelier, willow burial trays and caskets by Mary Lauren Fraser, Green Mountain Burial Shrouds by Jan Stuart, pine backboards and caskets by Daniel Chaffee and so much more! Participate in a community art project and visit artist Carla Kimball's “Into the Woods” photography installation. To learn more about our presenters, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram! |
We are gratified by the enormous interest in this event, but parking is very limited and so we ask that you RSVP in advance. This will help us tremendously in our planning as we prepare to welcome the public to our remote location. |
Would you like to volunteer at our Anniversary Celebration? We are seeking volunteers to set up on Friday October 9th to help us with setting up chairs, tents and decorations. Additionally, we will need volunteers on the day of the event, Saturday October 10th, to assist with parking as well as greeting and directing guests. Email Bailey to Sign Up: Bailey@cemetery.eco
Empty Arms and Good Beginnings
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and Vermont Forest Cemetery is honored to partner with Empty Arms and Good Beginnings to offer a Remembrance Event on Saturday October 3, from 2-4pm.
Activities include:
planting seeds for spring ephemeral flowers
rock decoration
healing movement with Amy LePage for adults and children
meditative walk in the forest labyrinth with time for sharing reflections
No matter the reason, stage of pregnancy or infancy, or when your loss was, you are welcome here. No previous association with VFC, Empty Arms or Good Beginnings is needed. Accommodations can be made by arrangement for people with access or mobility concerns (including a shuttle)- but only if you RSVP!
After Death-care How to legally care for the dead in Vermont |
What if caring for someone after death was something you knew you could do? Not something you had to do. Not something everyone should want to do. But something you understood well enough to make a real choice about. That's one of our hopes for After-Death Care: How to legally care for the dead in Vermont. |
 |
We want participants to leave with a deeper understanding of why families and communities might choose to participate in caring for someone after death, and with the practical knowledge and confidence to say, “I could do this, if and when it feels right.” And perhaps even: “I could help someone else do this.” For some people, that might mean being able to bathe or dress the body of someone they love. It might mean sitting vigil at home. It might mean knowing what questions to ask a funeral director and choosing which parts of care you'd like professional support with. For death doulas, caregivers, clergy, and other end-of-life professionals, it might mean becoming a more knowledgeable resource for the people you serve. And for some of us, it might mean becoming one of the people in our community who knows what is possible and who can be called upon when someone dies. This fall, we'll gather for three online sessions and a required in-person, hands-on day where we'll practice together, ask questions, share knowledge, and build relationships. October 22 — Online November 5 — Online November 14 — In person November 19 — Online No previous experience is necessary. Just curiosity and a desire to understand more about how we can care for one another after death. Because the goal isn't for any of us to know how to do this alone. It's for more of us to know how to do it together. |
Tours |
 |
Come meet founder and head cemeterian Michelle Hogle Acciavatti for a two-hour tour focusing on the stories of the forest and the vision of the cemetery all while answering your questions about VFC! |
Our next Founder’s Tour will take place on Sunday September 27th after The Music The Forest Holds concert at 3pm |
There will be another Founder’s Tour on October 10th from 2:00pm - 4:00pm as a part of our 3rd Anniversary Celebration. |
 |
Our next Cemeterian Tour will take place on Saturday October 17th from 10am - 11:30am. Walk with cemeterian Bailey McLaughlin for a ninety-minute tour through the grounds of the cemetery. You’ll learn about the ecology of the forest and our conservation goals, stories of those residing in the cemetery and have all of your natural burial questions answered. |
Winter comes early in the mountains, and we are beginning to wind down our tours for the 2026 season. Our final Founder’s tour will be November Saturday 14th and our final Cemeterian Tour will be on Saturday November 21st. Don’t worry - for winter we’ll switch to our monthly Q&As and in-person tours will begin again after the mud dries in May 2027. |
 |
Our final Cemetery Stewardship Day will be on Sunday November 15th from 10am - 2pm. Come and join us as we prepare the grounds for winter. |
Those of us who work at Vermont Forest Cemetery are committed to providing the best possible service to our community, and encourage you to contact us at any time with questions, concerns or ideas at info@cemetery.eco. We value your continued support and are deeply indebted to those of you who have volunteered to help build trails, participate in burials, or just bear witness for those experiencing loss; for those who chose to make tax deductible donations, and to those who have chosen to support us through advanced purchases of burial rights. Thank you for your continued support! We hope to see many of you at the cemetery. It is a beautiful place in all seasons, made all the more beautiful by the stories it holds. |
Comments