Demystifying Death Week 2026
Demystifying Death Week is about shining a light on death, dying and bereavement in Scotland. We are encouraging people to get involved by holding in-person and online events that bring death, dying and bereavement into the limelight.
Demystifying Death Week takes place across Scotland from 4-10 May 2026. If you are organising an event that you’d like us to feature, please get in touch.
Below is a list of events happening across Scotland and online for Demystifying Death Week:
Death Café - GRAVETALK café space to talk openly about ‘death & funerals'
Organised by St Columba’s By the Castle Scottish Episcopal Church
Sunday 10 May, 2-4pm
St Columba’s By the Castle Scottish Episcopal Church, 14 Johnston Terrace Edinburgh EH1 2PW
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
You are invited to Death Café - GRAVETALK, a welcoming safe space to chat openly about life, death, and all that accompanies the journey.
Join the group at a cozy café space where they will chat openly about all things death. No taboos, just honest conversations over coffee. It’s an in-person gathering where you can share thoughts, stories, and questions about this natural part of life. Come as you are and connect with others who want to explore the topic in a relaxed, friendly vibe.
Find out more and book your free place here.
Demystifying Death Practicalities
Organised by Pushing Up the Daisies
9th May 2026, 2pm-4:30pm
Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
This practical workshop will demystify the process our bodies go through after death. We will demonstrate ways to tend to someone’s body at home after their death. We will dispel myths, consider discomforts, and address uncertainties.
We aim for this to be a safe space. Participants are welcome to take breaks at any time but we cannot provide emotional support. With great tenderness, we ask that participants are conscious of what they can reasonably manage in this space, take care of their own emotional needs and lean on their own support systems.
The venue is wheelchair accessible. Let us know anything that would help you to participate in the workshop. We want everyone to have access to this information - if finance is a barrier to you attending, please contact kate@pushingupthedaisies.org.uk
Pushing Up the Daisies is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation SC046808
Find out more and get your ticket here.
It Takes a Village Exhibition
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Organised by Cowal Hospice, NHS Highland
1-8 May 2026
Cowal Community Hospital, Dunoon
This photo exhibition will be displayed in a public area.
There is an old African proverb –‘It takes a village to raise a child – meaning, children need the input and support of their whole community to grow into well-rounded adults. But doesn’t it also ‘take a village’ to support someone who is dying?
The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care has worked with award-winning Glasgow based photographer, Colin Gray, to produce this powerful and challenging series of portraits and personal stories. It Takes a Village explores the idea that as people’s health deteriorates, care and support comes in many guises.
Photo credit: Colin Gray
Children, Dying, Loss and Grief
Organised by NHS Grampian’s Spiritual Care Team
Thursday 7 May, 7.00 - 8.30pm
Online via Microsoft Teams
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
NHS Grampian’s Spiritual Care Team is hosting a series of free, online webinars with a range of panel speakers as part of Demystifying Death Week 2026.
This webinar is about children, dying, loss and grief. Speakers include Marcia Dean of NHS Grampian and Louise Esson.
Each webinar is running at two different times to make it easier for as many people as possible to attend. If you have any queries, contact gram.realisticmedicine@nhs.scot.
Find out more and register here.
Image credit: Sergey Zolkin via Unsplash
It Takes a Village
Organised by NHS Tayside in collaboration with Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief
This touring exhibition will be at:
Kirk Cafe, Auchterarder on 5th May, 11am-2pm
St John’s Centre, Perth on 6th May, 10am-3pm
Tesco, Blairgowrie on 7th May, 11am-2pm
It Takes a Village is a powerful and challenging series of portraits and personal stories exploring the idea that as people’s health deteriorates, care and support comes in many guises.
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