Boston prepares to commemorate marathon bombing victims

As Boston-area institutions prepare to mark one year since a deadly bomb attack at the Boston Marathon shattered limbs and transformed lives, they're finding it's no easy task to channel the region's complex emotions into acts of remembrance.

Dozens of events, from a televised tribute to quiet prayer services, are in the works for April. Hospitals, universities, big sports teams and small towns are all planning to remember in unique ways and give people a chance to share sorrow, pain, hope and pride or some combination.

Distilling the region's intense feelings into coherent ceremonies is a delicate balance. While "Boston Strong" has been the city's defiant rallying cry for a year, commemorations must also acknowledge how injuries and wounds – physical and mental – haven't fully healed, organizers say.

"What we have wanted to do is provide a vehicle for people to express themselves in whatever way is best for them," said Tom Grilk, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA), organizer of the marathon and the tribute. "The only thing we're really sure of is that we don't know what that is for everybody else."

Boston's main event will be the BAA's April 15 tribute at the Hynes Convention Center. Gov. Deval Patrick, Mayor Marty Walsh and other speakers will honor the four killed (including a security officer killed during the manhunt), as well as the hundreds injured, first responders and health care workers. To cap the emotional gathering, attendees will walk to the marathon finish line for a flag-raising ceremony and a moment of silence at 2:49, when the first of two bombs went off one year earlier.

Traditional events will see record participation, Grilk said, because "so many people want to show resilience."

Participation in the April 21 marathon has swelled by a third to 36,000 runners, the most ever. Organizers wanted to accommodate the 5,600 who couldn't finish after the bombing and admit 3,400 representing hospitals and charities that responded to the tragedy. The ranks of volunteers have surged 20% this year to more than 10,000, and many were turned away. Two shorter "fun runs" over marathon weekend (April 19-21) will give another 12,000 runners an opportunity to honor survivors and first responders.

Universities with close ties to last year's tragedy are tailoring their events to reflect the unique grief they bear. On April 14, Boston University will hold a memorial service in Marsh Chapel for Lingzi Lu, a Chinese graduate student killed in the bombings. The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student, will dedicate the week to civic engagement, including a campuswide vigil for bombing victims.

"It's in order to commemorate the losses, to honor those who lost their lives and be able to convey our empathy to the families," said UMass-Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman. "One of the important lessons is that our time here is very precious, and we have to use it with purpose."

Hospitals that tended to the wounded are creating venues for former patients, family members and health care workers to look back together. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Medical Center are hosting discussions on insights gained over the past year. Chaplains will lead services where staff can pray, meditate and reflect.

Because the region was terrorized by an attack and four-day manhunt that forced people indoors, "we are dealing with ongoing stress," said Kermit Crawford, director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health at Boston Medical Center. "How we as individuals deal with those stressors will determine ultimately how well we work through the recovery. … Overall, I think the commemorations help."

While institutions craft events for their respective communities, the Boston Red Sox face the challenge of giving the whole city a unified voice — at least for one night.

At Fenway Park on April 20, the Red Sox will use music, stirring images and appearances by iconic figures including double-amputee Jeff Bauman to rally the city before the next marathon is run the next day. Charles Steinberg, who manages special events at the park, knows the program should be uplifting, but it can't be all about triumph because wounds and suffering haven't gone away.

"As the year went on, you were riding a triangular carousel of emotions: sorrow and sadness, resolve and resilience, triumph — then back to the sorrow and sadness," said Steinberg, an executive vice president of the Red Sox. "What you'd like to see now are so many of the inspiring stories."

Attempts to strike the right chords will continue beyond April and beyond Boston. In Stoneham, a Boston suburb where six severely injured survivors live, townspeople will honor their struggles with a blood drive April 11 and the second annual Stoneham Strong 5K on May 24.

A ceremony before the 5K will have speakers and a moment of silence. Organizer Dave Poland has also been keen to include a kids' run this year, in part because "just to hear their laughter helps to raise spirits."

"It is a little difficult, because you don't want to overplay the festival part of it, but you do want to have a sense of hope," said Poland, owner of a gym. "Sometimes some of these events can be kind of depressing. You want to remember what happened, but also remember that there's hope at the end of it."