Evergreen

Good Mourning Festival 2026: 
Join the Volunteer Team! 

Evergreen is excited to host our fourth annual Good Mourning Festival the weekend of October 25 & 24, 2026.
Apply now to join the team, attend training, and sign up for shifts!  

Evergreen’s “Good Mourning Festival” aims to bring different communities and cultures together to celebrate, commemorate and share experiences of death and grief. This year, the festival will take place over 2 days (October 24th and 25th, 2026) where community can gather and share in traditional practices, customs, and dances.  

Day 1: Together in Grief – October 24, 2026 

• Focus on community grief, shared grief experiences, the way we move through grief using the arts, etc.   
• Focus on exploring the role of public space in grief.  

Day 2: Day of the Dead – October 25, 2026  

• An annual celebration of Mexican and LatinX culture as we honour the relationship between life and death. 

Festival volunteers on this team can help out by supporting a variety of tasks and roles including Wayfinders, Info Booth Attendants, Activation Assistants, and more! Festival details will continue to be finalized over the next month. 

🌟 Tasks & Responsibilities – What you might do:  

• Help visitors locate activations, workshops, and programming around the Brick Works campus,  
• Help visitors navigate and wayfind key spots at the festival,   
• Help set up/take down decorations and installations across the site,   
• Help facilitate various workshop activations  
• + so much more!  

👉 What You Bring:     

• You’re outgoing and like meeting new people, 
• You have customer service experience, 
• You’re comfortable approaching people, answering questions, wayfinding, etc., in festival and settings with large crowds,   
• You are familiar with the Brick Works site and/or have a willingness to learn more about it and the Good Mourning Festival,  
• You have an interest or curiosity about the role public spaces have in grief, mourning, and collective healing,   
• You’re passionate about better public spaces and transforming public spaces for community impact,   
• You have advanced English communication skills,  
• You are friendly and a team player.   

⏰ When: Varied, roughly 3-hour shifts available over a 2-day period (October 24th and October 25th, 2026). Shift times are expected to take place from 9:30am - 12:30pm & 12:15pm - 3:15pm across both days.  

Shift times will be re-confirmed at the orientation and closer to the festival date.  

📍 Where & Getting Here:  The festival will take place at Evergreen Brick Works (550 Bayview Ave). Accessible by TTC bus at Davisville Station or our free shuttle bus outside Broadview Station. The specific meeting location for your shifts will be announced soon and by email once you sign up. A site map will be sent before the shift. Click here to learn more about getting to the Brick Works.   

🔎 Good to Know & Orientation Details:  

• Prospective volunteers will need to attend a mandatory virtual orientation on Wednesday October 14 2026, 6:00-7:00pm to be able to see/sign-up for shifts.  
• We will reach out to onboarded volunteers with updates, reminders, and instructions to help volunteers feel prepared and confident. We are here to support you and ensure you have a meaningful time volunteering with us.   
• Volunteers will be able to see and sign-up for their preferred roles and times depending on the qualifications required.    
• This role may involve standing for long periods of time. Be sure to inform us if you would need an accommodation. 
• We anticipate the site will be quite busy across both festival days. 
   

🍂 What to expect at the orientation: 

• About Evergreen,  
• Volunteering with Evergreen (Agreements, expectations, and Better Impact),  
• Good Mourning Festival volunteer role announcements,   
• About the Good Mourning Festival and Day of the Dead (impact, programming, vendors, etc.),  
• Any remaining info related to the 2-day event,  
• Question Period.   

We’re looking to onboard a team of 30 -35 volunteers to support this upcoming festival. Volunteers will sign-up for all shifts/sessions on a first come-first served basis. Due to limited spaces, volunteers are asked to remove themselves from schedules if their availability changes to make space for other volunteers.    

✨ Commitment:   
Volunteers are asked to sign up for at least 1-2 shifts throughout the weekend of October 24 and October 25, 2026. You may choose to volunteer for an entire day (signing up for a morning and afternoon shift) or you may split the shift commitment over the weekend.  

🌳 How We Will Support You:    
Good Mourning Festival volunteers will participate in an orientation to learn more about the program, expectations, and ask any questions they might have. We'll share an info package with you post orientation. Volunteers will be supported by staff and fellow volunteers during their shifts. 

🤝 Perks & What You'll Gain:    
Immerse yourself in our Good Mourning festival, and witness first-hand the impact that public space can have in helping one process grief. Volunteers will support the delivery of a meaningful, impact-driven festival focused on themes of grief, mourning, and collective healing. Volunteers will gain customer service experience, meet community, and form connections with other like-minded individuals from all over our city. Volunteers are also contributing to our mandate of community programming around themes of improving health and wellbeing and strengthening local communities.  

Evergreen volunteers who contribute 20+ hours in a season will also receive a t-shirt, a 15% discount on Evergreen Garden Market purchases, and access to the Toronto Attractions Council Reciprocal Program (free admission to attractions like the ROM and AGO!).     

📝 Are you a new Evergreen Volunteer? To volunteer at Good Mourning Festival:   

• Fill out the application in the upper right-hand corner by clicking on the “Fill in an application” button. In your application, please let us know about yourself and why you are interested in the volunteer opportunity!    
• Once you’ve completed your profile, return to this page and click on the “+sign-up” button to apply. A member of our team will follow up with applicants and share next steps.  
• Join us for the virtual orientation session on Wednesday October 14, 2026, 6:00-7:00pm.   
• Read and sign Evergreen’s Volunteer Agreement Form prior to your first shift.  
• Complete your AODA training module prior to your first shift.    

💚 Already a volunteer?  Log in to your volunteer profile and return to the role posting. Click on the “+sign-up” button toward the bottom of the page to apply.      

Important Notice:  Volunteers are asked to read and sign Evergreen’s Volunteer Agreement Form prior to volunteering.   

Questions? Reach out to volunteer engagement at volunteer@evergreen.ca.  

Accessibility Statement: Evergreen welcomes volunteer applications from persons of diverse backgrounds and is an equal opportunity organization. Accommodation will be provided as required under Evergreen’s Accommodation policy. Please make your needs known in advance.