Death Cafés are now held all over the world, giving people the opportunity to gather for conversation around death and dying whilst enjoying cake and a cuppa. The Death Café model was developed by the late Jon Underwood and his mother, Sue Barsky Reid, based on the work of Bernard Crettaz, 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives'.

A Death Café is a group-directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session. Each session is facilitated by people who have signed up to specific Death Café principles.

At Kicking the Bucket Festival, we are delighted that one of our October events will be an in-person Death Café at the Old Fire Station in Oxford. The session will be led by two facilitators, adhering to all Death Café guidance. They will create a safe, respectful, confidential space for participants to talk and listen freely, with no pushing of ideas or products – and OFS has great coffee and cake!

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