ST. CLOUD -- Munsinger Gardens saw some extra visitors this afternoon (Sunday) as hundreds gathered for the Quiet Oaks Hospice House 3rd Annual Butterfly Release.

The event was part of the Munsinger Clemens Botanical Society's "Music in the Gardens" event.

Joe Bauer, and his wife Mary, are the Co-Founders of Quiet Oaks. Joe says the butterfly release is meant to help families in the letting go process.

"I think it's something people really need a release point and where they can actually let something go," says Bauer.

Nearly 200 butterflies were released in the gardens.

Mary Bauer says the event has become more than just a Quiet Oaks event.

"It's also a community event, that not nessacceraly someone who has a connection to Quiet Oaks may attend and want to remember their loved one," says Bauer.

The butterfly symbols new life, and Mary says they get the butterflies from Little Falls.

"We have someone raise butterflies and she provides us with dormant butterflies for this event," says Mary Bauer.

The butterfly release is not meant to be a cure for those grieving, but instead a chance to get together with others who have suffered a loss.

"It's not going to cure, or make them feel happy or joyful coming forward, but it give them a chance to really let go one more time," says Joe Bauer.

Joe and Mary started Quiet Oaks as a way to help families who had a love one that needed care.

 

A butterfly lands on a piece of paper during 3rd annual Butterfly Release. (Photo: Alex Svejkovsky, WJON News)
A butterfly lands on a piece of paper during 3rd annual Butterfly Release. (Photo: Alex Svejkovsky, WJON News)
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