Join Us for the 40th Annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 6 p.m.

First United Methodist Church, covered porch, 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder CO 80302

The theme of the 40th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is Spread Love and Solidarity to Build Stronger Communities.

On Sunday, May 21, the Interfaith AIDS Coalition (IAC) and BCAP invite you to join us for an in-person Candlelight Memorial to remember people living with HIV who have died. As we hold those we have lost in our hearts, we gather in support of and solidarity with people living with HIV. This beautiful and moving outdoor event has been co-hosted by the IAC and BCAP since 1992. We hope you will attend and encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to join you.

This year's program includes live music, short reflections by Rev. Randy Spaulding of the Boulder Mennonite Church, a short walk together in silence, and the reading of names of people living with HIV who have died. Musicians for the evening are harpist, Susan Conceicao; local singer-guitarists, Laurie Dameron and Matt Nicodemus; and opera singer, Alex Sierra.

Rev. Spaulding is the first male gay pastor to be ordained in the Mennonite tradition and is active in social justice work. Susan Conceicao enjoys being a guest harpist at various events. Laurie Dameron is a Billboard Magazine award recipient who performs widely and is an environmental activist. Matt Nicodemus is a singer, guitarist, and social activist. Alex Sierra is a voice teacher, an opera singer, and currently sits on BCAP’s Board of Directors.

Camille Hook represents Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on the IAC. In preparing for this year's memorial, Camille has sewn many strands of flags, with each flag intended to honor a person whose name is shared. The flags will be given to people at the memorial who would like to hang them outside in their garden or yard.

Details of the Walk in Boulder

At 6 p.m. people will gather on the porch of First United Methodist Church (FUMC). The program will begin shortly after 6:15 p.m.

The walk is one third of a mile long, leaving from and returning to the FUMC at 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder. Participants will be invited to carry signs, provided by BCAP, to remind the public that until there is a cure, there is work to do to improve the lives of people living with HIV, to minimize transmission, and to end HIV-related stigma.

From FUMC, the walk goes past BCAP on 14th Street and pauses at the Boulder County Historic Court House on the Pearl Street Mall, to enhance visibility. The walk continues east along Pearl Street to 15th Street, ending back at the FUMC’s porch area, at 15th and Spruce Streets.

People living with HIV started the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in 1983. Since then, there have been thousands of events organized across the world by community-based organizations, like BCAP. Since 2011, the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial has been coordinated by Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+). This memorial brings together people in more than 100 countries to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

More about the events taking place worldwide can be found here: https://gnpplus.net/project/international-aids-candlelight-memorial/