Santa Monica joins nation in COVID day of rememberance

Brennon Dixon | Santa Monica Daily Press

Mar. 02, 2021 at 6:00 am

Hundreds of pastel-colored flower petals lined the entrance to Building Bridges Art Exchange near Bergamot Station Monday as local residents sought to commemorate those who have lost their lives to COVID in the ongoing pandemic.

The local COVID Memorial Day event was part of a national day of remembrance that was first started by the organization #MarkedByCovid.

As word spread, residents like Santa Monica’s Carolyn Freyer-Jones came together to arrange corresponding vigils in more than 100 cities around the country.

At the event Monday, Freyer-Jones said she was grateful to see the event come to fruition.

“It’s been really beautiful to see so many people coming here. This morning, my daughter and I were up at 5 a.m. because that’s how much we feel we should be acknowledging the loss. So we feel like this has been a game changer because it’s not just happening here,” Freyer-Jones said, referring to the various Rose River installations that are placed throughout the region. “So, to have the installations here and to have a day where all of these places around the country and people are doing floral wreaths — it’s just been amazing and you can’t help but feel good.”