BOISE — A Treasure Valley family hosted a festival on Saturday in the name of a lost loved one in an effort to bring other families together.
After their sister Kym was killed in a domestic violence attack in March of 2018, Chelsea Larson and Jade Warren say they wanted to organize a memorial of life.
"My sister and brother came to me and were like we want to do a memorial of life, do you have any ideas? I was like, ya we're doing a festival, just kind of was a no brainer at least to me, that's something that Kym loved to do every year. It was something we all did as a family. Ya, there was kind of no question. We didn't worry too much about how we were going to do it. We were just like let's do this and it turned out really well and so we decided to keep it going every year," said Chelsea Larsen, sister of Kym.
They say it's not only a celebration of life for their sister, but the event aims to honor other families who've lost loved ones to violence and tragedy.
"This year, it's like the community celebration of life where last year it was Kym's celebration so it's just evolved from there," said Jade Warren, sister of Kym.
This year they've added more workshops, vendors, and resources like the National Alliance on Mental Illness Treasure Valley.
"It's important for me because I personally have struggled with my mental health and I know that a positive outlook and a positive connection with my community and all of those others that struggle with mental health has really helped and improved my entire disposition," said Alex London, NAMI Treasure Valley.
The environment is meant to be a place for families to come together to heal and grow.
"I'm a big believer in teaching my daughter at a young age to see what's in the community, how we can help people in the community, and be real with her and what happens in life everyday so she gets to understand and see and learn ways to help others," said Tori Oth, attendee.
"It's amazing. It's definitely something that we feel is needed in our community just to have a space for connection and healing and the feedback we've gotten so far and leading up to it has been nothing but positive," said Larsen.
The event also included a memorial garden and a display which had stories of survival in our community.
If you would like to learn more, you can head to KYMfest.com
