Esther Guinea, Tanya Collins and Yvonne Kiel during a shrouding demostration on Sue Swalling at Echuca’s Wellness Expo. Photo: Supplied.
Rochester’s first Death over Dinner event will be held this week, giving residents a chance to talk about death in a safe and welcoming space.
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The event invites community members to come together and have open conversations about death, dying and planning for the end of life.
Facilitated by local end-of-life doula Esther Guinea, the Rochester dinner extends a series of similar events already running in Echuca.
Ms Guinea said the dinners were created out of a desire to make conversations about death easier to navigate.
“It was just to demystify death and dying to help people open up be open to conversation that it's not scary,” she said.
“It might still be scary, but by talking about it and getting in amongst it can reduce the fear and anxiety that people have because we don't talk about it.
“Putting it out in the open and having an open discussion and allowing ... everyone to have their say.”
While participants often arrive unsure of what to expect, Ms Guinea said many quickly open up, sharing personal experiences and considering their own end-of-life wishes.
There has also been growing interest in alternative approaches to end-of-life planning, including more creative ways of processing grief.
The dinners are deliberately unstructured, with conversation flowing naturally depending on what people want to explore on the night.
Looking ahead, Ms Guinea was also reconsidering the format of future events in response to cost-of-living pressures, with potential shifts away from restaurant-based dinners towards more accessible café-style gatherings.
End of Life Doula Esther Guinea. Photo: Supplied.
As the Rochester event approaches, her focus remains on creating space for honest conversation and helping people feel more prepared for situations that are often avoided until they become unavoidable.
“It’s about making it less scary,” she said.
“When people share real experiences, it lands differently. It becomes something they can connect to.
“It’s something that will affect all of us, and talking about it doesn’t make it worse, it often makes it easier.”
The event will be held on Thursday, June 25, from 6pm at The Local 3561.
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