1st Public Engagement
“Our goal today is to bring the community together so that we can remember them and celebrate their lives, express our grief and find a way forward.”
Anna Maria Beach
Covid Ribbon Memorial of Florida made its first public exhibition on February 16, 2021, when Cathy Tobias brought it out onto the Anna Maria beach.
The Covid Ribbon Memorial was stretched along the beach, beginning at Spring Ave. Beach entrance. It was nearly 2.5 football fields, 750 feet long, and attached periodically to posts holding it up off the sand.
About 100 people were there holding up the ribbons, blowing in the wind, as we remembered together the 29,000 lives lost to Covid-19. Many grieving people wrote the names of their lost loved ones on a ribbon in their memory.
“The more I kept looking down the sticks, the more I see it going and going. The more it hits you. Wow, each ribbon is a person. For how long it is, you realize that’s a lot.” — Tim Coombs
The purpose of the Covid Ribbon Memorial’s First Public Engagement was to remember, express our grief, and heal together as a community for the lives lost to Covid-19. During the memorial, Rabbi Stacy Offner said,
“We are going to lift up these beautiful ribbons to remember the beauty of life today, tomorrow and always, and she lead a moment of silence in tribute.
