Evergreen

Good Mourning Festival 2025: Join the Volunteer Team! 

Evergreen is excited to host our third annual Good Mourning Festival the weekend of November 1 & 2, 2025. 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 (November 1st and 2nd) where community can gather and share in traditional practices, customs, and dances. Day 1 is "Together in Grief," which is all about exploring the role of public space in grief. Day 2 is "Day of the Dead," an annual celebration of Mexican and Latin American culture as we honor the relationship between life and death. 

Festival volunteers on this team can help out by supporting a variety of tasks and roles including Wayfinders, Welcome Desk Attendants, Visitor Evaluation, Zero Waste Ambassadors & more! Festival details will continue to be finalized over the next few months.  

🌟 Tasks & Responsibilities – What you might do:  

• Help set up/take down decorations and installations across the site  
• Help visitors with wayfinding during the event  
• Help facilitate various activations  
• + so much more!  

👉 What You Bring:     

• You’re passionate about better public spaces and transforming public spaces for community impact,   
• You’re outgoing and like meeting new people, 
• You have customer service experience, 
• You’re comfortable approaching people, answering questions, wayfinding, etc.  
• 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 have advanced English communication skills,  
• You are friendly and a team player.   

⏰ When: Varied, roughly 3-hour shifts available over a 2-day period (November 1st and 2nd, 2025). 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 22, 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),  
• 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 November 1 and November 2. 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!).     

📝 If This Sounds Like You:  
Click the “Fill in an application” button at the top right corner of the page. Be sure to include as much relevant information as possible, so we may get to know you better. 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 to review expectations and ensure a good fit.  

💚 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.