AURORA | Alberto Veronica had a vision of thousands of hands working together to lift up a community.
Veronica, an administrative and studio assistant at the Downtown Aurora Visual Arts gallery, was looking for a way to creatively boost a city facing a difficult anniversary. On the morning of July 20, his vision took the form of a “healing wall,” an impromptu metal stand set up on the grass in front of the Aurora Municipal Center.
Visitors could cut out an outline of their hands on construction paper, write a prayer in marker and hang the memento on the wall.
“I wanted to make a project for everyone to do that would be beautiful at the end,” Veronica said. “It’s seeing that people are there for you, that they’re there to help you even if it’s still raw.”
The healing wall was one of several activities and volunteer service projects July 20, the one-year anniversary of the Century Aurora 16 theater shootings, which killed 12 and wounded 58. As Aurora braced to face the difficult first-year anniversary of the theater shootings, organizations from across the metro area arrived in the city to offer support.
In all, more than 350 volunteers tackled 13 projects around the city that day, including working with Project CURE to send medical supplies to poor countries, gardening work by the Boys and Girls Club of America and several others. Together, the volunteers logged more than 1,225 hours that day.
Prayer and spiritual counseling, art therapy and free massages were offered at the grounds in front of the Aurora Municipal Center, along with DAVA’s healing wall. Yoga, tai chi and blood donations were also planned for the day.
At the Aurora Strong Resilience Center, volunteer activities included yoga, drumming, rock painting and paper crane workshops.
That kind of range of activities was designed to offer mourners different options for healing. Helena Trent, a volunteer from the Taoist Ta Chi Society in Denver, came to Aurora to lead classes in hopes of helping attendees discover healing energy.
“Tai chi is a healing practice,” Trent said. “It’s based on the energy of circulation. When we are in touch with our feelings, we allow the energy to move through us, to heal us.”
The importance of those efforts figured into words from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who addressed the hundreds gathered in front of the Aurora Municipal Center.
“The actions of this community demonstrate courage and resilience,” Hickenlooper said. “These actions continue today … when you participate in projects throughout the community.
“I salute (you) for recognizing that as we remember, we go forward,” he added.
The day of remembrance also included a vigil in front of the municipal center where Mayor Steve Hogan said the attack hadn’t defined Aurora. That has been an important point for Hogan, who has said since the hours after the shootings that the community’s response to the horror would define Aurora, not the horror itself.
“Through our sadness and tears, we have grieved, we have supported each other in feeling, we have survived and we are finding ways to move forward,” Hogan said, after stating that he’d received a call from the White House early that morning. “This is a story of resilience not just of Aurora, but of humankind.”
The crowd gathered on the great lawn this year numbered in the hundreds, and that crowd paled in comparison to the thousands that converged at the same site days after the shootings. But those who did attend showed their support with solemn prayers, tears and memorials in different forms.
The Aurora Symphony Orchestra and the band Sleep Well, headed by Aurora native Sam Columna, played music for the milling crowd. University of Colorado Hospital emergency room doctor Comilla Sasson offered a teary tribute to the health-care community. Hickenlooper spoke to the importance of focusing on courage and kindness.
“We said a year ago that we will remember,” Hickenlooper said. “We were talking about the remarkable individuals whose lives were lost that evening. We made that pledge.”
That vow played a large role in the ceremony.
A military serviceman struck a bell as Hogan and Hickenlooper took turns reciting the names of the 12 victims. A line of attendees that included congressmen, Aurora city council members, school district officials, victims and their families and community members shuffled by a massive wreath to lay down white roses as a symbol of remembrance.
The true weight of the ceremony came through in the simple message attached to the wreath: “In memory of those lost and whose lives were forever changed.”
Aurora Sentinel reporter Brandon Johansson contributed to this report.