LEWISTON — A year after a heartbreaking night when 18 people died in a mass shooting, the community gathered for a mostly somber ceremony to remember those who fell and acknowledge the wide impact of one of Maine’s darkest days.

About 900 people showed up at The Colisée to share their sorrow, anger, anxiety, love and so many other conflicting emotions with one another.

“You are just here and that is what matters,” said the Rev. Sarah Gillespie, a Unitarian Universalist minister in Lewiston. Simply showing up, she said, shows “a precious hope.”

“We are all part of this beautiful tapestry — and this is our strength,” signed deaf actress Lauren Ridloff, who had roles in “The Walking Dead” show and the film “Eternals.”

Intended as a milestone on what may be a long road to recovery, organizers called the commemoration “a moment for reflection, healing, and unity” that they planned in detail to try “to ensure that everyone feels safe and included.”

A series of 18 empty chairs stood at the front of a stage set up in what would normally be the ice rink. Each held a blue heart with the name of one of the dead as well as white flowers and a candle.

The ceremony itself featured scores of photographs of those killed in the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille as well as their families and friends.

Taken together, it showed in excruciating detail how much was lost. But it also showed how much yet remains.

“We have seen love and support grow out of the darkness,” said television sports commentator Tom Caron, a Lewiston native who served as host of the event. “Here, tonight, there is light.”

Deaf actress Lauren Ridloff signs Friday during the one-year commemoration of the mass shooting held at The Colisée in Lewiston. Ridloff plays Makkari, the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

The commemoration was organized by the OneLewiston Resilience Fund Committee in partnership with the city of Lewiston, the Maine Resiliency Center and the Lewiston Auburn Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Elizabeth “Liz” Seal, whose husband Joshua was among the slain, signed about the beauty of a spider web, with its silky strands that are nearly invisible but are connected.

After the shooting, Seal said she thought she knew four of the dead, members of the Deaf community and no others. But she came to learn that she actually knew many more.

She said one umpired at softball games. Another had a niece who is friends with her daughter. Still another had hosted fundraising events she attended. And there were more.

What she realized, Seal said, is that “we are all interconnected. And these connections, just like a spider web, are beautiful.”

Her words hit home.

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said the most poignant moment for him was Seal’s account of her “discovery of new connections and community following the tragedy.”

A handful of speakers said the community has shown resilience and strength as it has sought to move forward without forgetting those who are gone.

A memorial for the 18 people killed in the mass shooting one year ago is laid out Friday in the parking lot of the former Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston. Kevin Boilard, owner of Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry, is in charge of the warming shelter being set up in the building. Boilard created the memorial. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Ridloff said people need to mourn the lost but also “to celebrate their lives in the community they helped build.”

“This city was built on hope,” Caron observed.

The one-year mark brought commentary from around the state and beyond its borders.

Gov. Janet Mills, who attended but did not speak, said on social media that she knows the one-year day “is difficult for many, but please know that you are not alone, that we are ‘Lewiston Strong,’ and that we will continue to heal, together.”

The Maine State Police issued a statement that said, “On this day we remember the lives lost and families forever changed. May we never forget those no longer with us, everyone affected, and all emergency responders across the region. Today we are all #LewistonStrong.”

“The events of that day shattered lives and impacted us all in ways that we still can’t fully grasp,” the city of Auburn said in a statement issued Friday.

Auburn, which had residents killed and injured during the shooting, said that “in the wake of profound tragedy, out of the darkness, the light of unity, grace, and caring has lifted us and brought us together. The outpouring of love and support from near and far has been a source of comfort, and slowly, our community will continue to heal.

“We have showed up for one another in meaningful ways in the days, weeks, and months since October 25. Let’s continue to show up for one another and for our community. Let’s honor the memory of those we lost by standing strong and standing together; by thriving, supporting each other, and healing as a community.”

Maine’s delegation on Capitol Hill in Washington — U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden — said in a statement released Friday that “one year ago, the unthinkable happened in Lewiston when a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and restaurant, shaking the community and Maine to its core.”

“For days, families sheltered in their homes as law enforcement worked to track down the shooter,” finding his body 49 hours later in nearby Lisbon, the delegation said.

“We are thankful for the diligence and bravery that put an end to this nightmare and allowed our state to begin working through the agony and devastation,” they said.

“But the seats at the kitchen table remain empty, with 18 Mainers absent from the lives of their friends and families. Others injured on that horrific day are still recovering from their wounds.

“As we continue to process the pain, we renew our commitment to helping one another, to remembering the victims and the lives forever changed that day, and to healing,” the four lawmakers concluded. Collins, King and Golden each attended the event.

Ridloff said life is filled with joys and sorrows, life and loss.

They “shape our days,” she said. “Living is a constant process of connecting the highs and the lows.”

Ridloff pointed out that “all the other days bring meaning to Oct. 25.”

Caron said this is “a community of bridges, auto and pedestrian bridges spanning the Androscoggin, connecting Lewiston and Auburn” as well as bridges that have always spanned the gap between those who have long roots and newcomers from the Quebec immigrants of years past and the refugees of more recent years.

“Together, we are stronger,” Caron said. “Together, we are one Lewiston.”

“The beauty of bridges,” he added, “is that they lead somewhere.”