EASTON, Pa. — An Easton pub is taking an innovative and heartfelt approach to providing comfort and connection to fathers who have lost their children with a special event this weekend.
This Sunday, The Blendery — Seven Sirens Brewing Company in Easton is hosting a Bereaved Father’s Day event from 2 to 5 p.m. to help those in the community who have lost a child and comfort one another in a positive environment.
According to a social media post from the venue, the idea came about several months ago when they were contacted to help host a Bereaved Mother’s Day get-together after their original venue was canceled.
“We see a need that we’d like to fill, and we had such a tremendous turnout with the mothers that we thought doing this for the fathers would be a great idea ..."Event Manager Rob Serulneck
“We scrambled to put this event together and with less than one week of preparation, we had over 250 guests come throughout the evening. We were amazed with the turnout and immediately started planning an event for the fathers,” The Blendery’s Facebook page reads.
The Blendery has promoted the free event as “100% stress-free for those attending as this event is for you all to enjoy, not for you to be burdened by the logistics.”
Fathers wishing to attend are welcome to bring guests should they choose not to come alone.
Dinner and non-alcoholic drinks will be complementary for the event, workers from The Blendery said, as “It’s our way of using our industry relationships to help the community around us.”
Guests can feel free to enjoy a game of pool or shuffleboard, or just kick back and relax.
All the food and supplies for the event have been donated by “wonderful partners in the community,” though The Blendery encourages those who wish to contribute to support the vendors who made the event possible, including BalloonWorks, The Mellow Kitchen, La Bella Via, Cheese Please Charcuterie, Saladworks, and Gift Box Floral & Garden.
As the original Bereaved Mother’s Day event was a runaway success — it was originally intended to host a group of 12, though 250 showed — The Blendery is requesting anyone interested in the Bereaved Father’s Day event to register online in advance so they can be better prepared to accommodate guests.
The Bereaved Mother’s Day event has been confirmed to return next year, and if this weekend’s get-together plays out well, it could also come back.
According to the Children's Bereavement Center, obtaining community support after losing a loved one can help attend to the unique needs of grieving individuals, and help build a personal support system that those affected can utilize if and when they are ready to seek further help.
“We see a need that we’d like to fill, and we had such a tremendous turnout with the mothers that we thought doing this for the fathers would be a great idea: offering free food, free soft drinks, and encouraging people to come," said Event Manager Rob Serulneck.
"They could bring pictures if they'd like, and testimonies. And we're honored to do this event.”
