Sunday, January 7th, 10am-12pm
Please join us as we celebrate and honor the life of Justin Valone, who was a key part of efforts to revive Alemany Farm in San Francisco in 2005.
We will gather from 10am - 12noon at Alemany Farm, and will plant a persimmon tree in his memory. There will also be opportunities to share memories, songs, or any othere ways attendees wish to express their connection with Justin. Check Alemanyfarm.org for directions to the farm if you haven't been there before.
December 2, 1:30pm
Santa Cruz Portuguese Hall
216 Evergreen St, #2136, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
The intention of this memorial is to offer a space in which Justin’s community can grieve, be together, remember, and celebrate him. We recognize that people will meet those needs in a variety of ways, and so we invite you to arrive for the portions you’d like to participate in, and to step in and out as you need to. There is ample nearby outdoor space, including a park and forest with a beautiful redwood hike. Folks can visit the indoor and outdoor altars, interactive displays, and eat snacks from the food table throughout the ceremony.
We hope that this memorial offering can meet different needs for how we honor Justin, and how we care for ourselves and each other. We’ve attempted to balance desires for both structured and unstructured time during the memorial, and we recently made changes to the program to reflect this. There will now be relatively unstructured time starting at 3:45pm. If that is the part that calls to you most, and/or if the full program feels too long, then we encourage you to come at that time. Below is the updated schedule.
Memorial Ceremony Program
1:30 Arrive. Please come early so we can begin the program at 2.
2:00 Welcome, singing, and "Things we shared with Justin" activity
3:00 Justin’s family speaks, slideshow, and singing together
3:45 Open socializing, stories encouraged, bar opens
5:30 Dinner & Ice Cream Bar
Live stream: For those who can't make it in person, there will be a live stream option via Zoom, which you can access using this link (Meeting ID: 896 5748 0905; Passcode: 633390). If you have trouble with the live stream, call Samuel at 530-391-7606.
Scent free: To help make this space a healthy one for our community members with chemical sensitivities, please do not wear any cologne or perfume or other strongly scented personal products to any of the memorial activities.
Covid testing: In order to help us care for our community, please take a covid rapid test Saturday morning. We'll have some rapid tests on hand for those who aren't able to test before coming. If you test positive, please stay home and watch the live stream.
Masking: Masks are not required. If you have symptoms of other contagious illness, please wear a mask. We'll have some masks available if you need one.
Ventilation: We will do our best to ventilate the hall by keeping windows and/or doors open, so please bring warm clothing.
Child care: Some community members will provide child care outside of the hall from 1:30-5:30pm for anyone who desires it. We welcome you to bring kids’ toys or games.
Food & drinks: The ceremony will be followed by a build-your-own burrito bar dinner, starting around 5:30pm, and an ice cream bar for dessert. There is a cash bar (credit cards and Apple Pay also accepted), which will open at 3:45. No outside alcohol is allowed on site. Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks will be available throughout the event, potluck style.
Dress code: Wear whatever you want! Please bring warm clothing, as we will keep windows and/or doors open to aid in ventilation and reduce risk of covid transmission.
Altar items: Please consider bringing an item for a collaborative memorial altar for Justin and plan to take it with you at the end. Please label your item with your name if you can.
Accessibility: The Portuguese Hall is wheelchair accessible, with a ramp to get into the building.
Bike ride to the memorial: Some folks are biking to the memorial together. If you’d like to join, gather at the Bike Church (703 Pacific Ave) at 12:30pm and ride out at 1pm.
Parking: There is plenty of parking for cars. There are spaces for bike parking along a fence and at other spots around the outside of the hall.
Set up and clean up: Come starting at 11am if you want to help with set up. And/or stay after dinner if you want to help clean up.
Other Weekend Events
Saturday
Dance Party / Bonfire
8pm till late
208 Blackburn St. (Justin's house)
There will be dancing (music by DJ Hawtnugz from Santa Cruz and Public Frenemy from Oakland) and space for joyful movement inside. Outside, there will be a bonfire, couches, Justin's trailer and multiple other spaces for conversation or solitude.
Set up for the party is happening from 8-10 pm on Friday (the day before), and clean up will happen on Sunday morning, please contact Josh if you'd like to help.
Sunday
Coffee, Bagels, and Vegan Pastries at The Hub
9am
703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz
The Hub is home to the Bike Church — a project that was very important to Justin and where he connected with and supported so many people in Santa Cruz and beyond. Justin is a beloved part of the Hub community, and we look forward to sharing our space with you. The Bike Church will provide bagels and vegan pastries and be open for a simple tour and SubRosa — also part of the community center — will provide coffee.
The Hub Community Center is a constellation of projects that support skill-sharing, appropriate re/use of resources, and interconnected, creative communities — since 1994! More about the Hub is at https://www.santacruzhub.org/
Walk to Do Right Flower Farm
Meet at 10:45am / Walk 11am (sharp!) to 1:30pm
Starts at Big Basin State Park gate, across from parking at Waddell Beach lot
Do Right Flower Farm is opening up the farm to Justin's loved ones to connect to the site of Justin's accident and layer it with love. After the 30 minute gentle hike into the farm there will be free time to be at the bridge and to wander in our field. This intimate event is intended for close friends and family for whom visiting the site may be healing.
Brings offerings, songs, snacks, water, and weather appropriate clothes.
There is no cell-service once we leave the highway.
Park at the Waddell Beach Parking Lot on Highway 1 and gather at the Big Basin State Park gate across the highway.
We will walk the 30 minute gentle hike to the farm, leaving the highway at 11am sharp.
Since we will be walking through the closed Big Basin SP for a portion of the hike, we must walk in as a group.
If anyone would like to attend but has accessibility needs that interfere with hiking, please text Kelly 831-212-1987
Paddle Out
3pm meet up time for gear sorting and borrowing - meet at Pelton Ave and West Cliff in the grassy field next to the church.
3:30pm paddle out
Meet at the surfer statue (547 W Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz)
Often, when a surfer passes away, other surfers in their community organizes a paddle out to honor that person. In Justin's honor, surfers are invited to bring their boards. Some loaner boards, other flotation devices, and wet suits will be available to borrow. Renting is also a possibility for anyone who wants to participate and doesn't have the gear.
Please use this spreadsheet to share gear or borrow it.
What to expect at the paddle out:
-it will be a celebration
-there will be a big circle up
-bring flowers you’d like to offer to the ocean and Justin
-you can share words or sing or not
-there will be splashing
-conditions should be calm and not too windy
-some of us may surf after
Bring items to dress the surfer statue up like Justin!
Prayer Night, Memories and Tunes for Justin
Logistics:
7pm prayer
8:30 or 9ish Celtic and Old-Timey Tune session
Participate via zoom or in person at 131 Pryce, which is a blue house located behind 133 Pryce. Go down the driveway to the right of 133 Pryce and enter through the purple door.
Invitation:
Temple of the Waters is hosting a prayer night, a space where people can share their grief, celebrations and prayers for Justin and his beloved community at this time of transition. All forms of prayer welcomed, be it spoken aloud or sung, be it movement or silence, be it a memory or a musing. Your laughter, your tears, your "what next?" all have a home here.
Then, bring your fiddles, mandolins, guitars, flutes, hand drums, cellos and whatever else, and we'll imbue the space with some of that beautiful folk energy that goes along so well with everything Justin did. The bread-and-butter of these sessions are instrumental tunes, but if you've got a singalong song we'll give it a go as well.
Accessibilty: The prayer space is our living room, and although there are no stairs at the entry, we unfortunately do not have any ramp-accessible bathrooms on the site. Reach out to monk@templeofthewaters.org by Friday morning with any other accessibility concerns and we will do our absolute best to work out good accommodations in collaboration with you.