42nd Annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Will Be Sunday, May 18, 2025

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BOULDER – Local Candlelight Memorial to take place on Sunday, May 18, 2025, hosted by Interfaith AIDS Coalition (IAC) of Boulder County and Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP)

On Sunday May 18, the Interfaith AIDS Coalition (IAC) and Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP) are hosting an in-person Candlelight Vigil remembering people living with HIV. This event is one of thousands of events organized across the world on this day. It is open to the public. Participants are invited to arrive at the covered porch of the First United Methodist Church (FUMC), located at 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder 80302, between 6 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. The program will begin shortly afterward.

The program includes live music, short reflections by Rev. Amy Ostwald, retired minister of the First Congregational Church, and the reading of names of people living with HIV who have died. Musicians for the evening are harpist, Susan Conceicao; local singer-guitarist, Matt Nicodemus, and opera singer, Alex Sierra.

There will be a silent walk leaving from the covered porch of First United Methodist Church (FUMC), past BCAP on 14th Street, to the Boulder County Historic Court House on the Pearl Street Mall, then east along Pearl Street to 15th Street, ending back at the FUMC’s porch area, at 15th and Spruce Streets.

Participants will carry signs reminding the public that until there is a cure, there is work to do to improve the lives of people living with HIV, to minimize transmission, and to end HIV-related stigma. After the last names are read aloud, participants will be invited to share names of loved ones they would like to remember.

Rev. Ostwald participated in an urban ministry program located in San Francisco during the midst of the first AIDS outbreak. She became well acquainted with the fears that gay men were living with at that time and she witnessed the unfolding of new avenues of support for this community during this crisis.

People living with HIV started the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in 1983 and since then there have been thousands of events organized across the world by community-based organizations. Such events have helped to raise awareness about HIV and break down stigma. Since 2011, the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial has been coordinated by Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+).

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial brings together people in more than 100 countries to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and highlight the importance of HIV prevention, treatment, and support. This year’s memorial highlights the stigma and self-stigma experienced by people living with HIV with the theme Spread Love and Solidarity to Build Stronger Communities. More about the theme and events taking place worldwide can be found here: https://gnpplus.net/project/international-aids-candlelight-memorial/

While we hold those we have lost in our hearts, we gather in support of and solidarity with people living with HIV.

BCAP and IAC have been organizing this event together since 1992.

The mission of Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP) is to provide support, advocacy, and education tothose in our community who are living with or affected by HIV, and to serve as an outreach and information center to prevent the further transmission of HIV.