Two-day reflection

set at state hospital

WATERBURY — Patients, family members of patients and others are planning to gather next weekend near the closed Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury.

They will mark the end of an era in the way the state has cared for its mentally ill residents. Tropical Storm Irene’s flooding forced the hospital to close more than a year ago.

Organizers say they want next weekend’s events — dubbed “Going to Waterbury: An Elegy” — to allow people to reflect on what that phrase meant for more than a century of Vermont’s history.

Events include an art exhibit Saturday and Sunday and a public forum at 11 a.m. Saturday in the state office complex. A closure ceremony is set for 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Andrew’s Church in Waterbury.