St Albans mum to put on dance night in memory of children

Entitled 'Dance with the Dragonfly', it takes place this Saturday (October 5).

Leanda Kelly suffered the heartbreak of losing both of her children to suicide after long battles with mental illness.

Steve and Tanya both died aged 44, with Steve choosing to end his own life in July 2023, partly because he didn't want to live longer than his beloved sister.

Tanya ended her life in December 2018 following a long struggle with her mental health.

Earlier this summer, Leanda raised over £13,000 with three semicolon tattoo events.

Tanya died in 2018 (Image: Leanda Kelly) Now, she's organised a club night in memory of them, raising money for SANE, MIND in Mid Herts and St Albans Action for Homeless.

She said: "The event is in memory of my children, but not just them, its for all the people I've met who have lost children.

"I want to do something for them to celebrate their memories and honour them."

The evening itself, she says, will be "a lot of fun", boasting "eight amazing DJ's and two rooms".

The poster for Saturday's event, taking place at the Pioneer Club. (Image: Leanda Kelly) The DJs, along with everyone involved in the event, will be giving their time for free. The Pioneer Club has also provided use of the venue free of charge.

Read More:

• Grieving mum's semicolon tattoo event after children tragically took own lives

• St Albans mum surpasses £13k raised in memory of her children

Organising the event has been an 18-month labour of love for Leanda, who said: "As soon as Stevie died, I knew I had to get my head together and do something. Just a few weeks later I went to see the Pioneer Club to arrange it. I had to throw myself into something so I got straight on with it."

The 'dragonfly' theme of the event has a special significance to Leanda, who explains: "Dragonflies are kind of 'my thing' because when a good friend of mine died, a dragonfly appeared in the room.

"After they died I got a dragonfly tattoo to remember them by.

Leanda's dragonfly tattoo (Image: Leanda Kelly) "Then I got another one when Tanya died and again when Stevie died. Its become my association with losing somebody that I loved and my way of honouring loved ones."

Tickets cost £15 and can be purchased from https://tickets.pioneerclub.co.uk/events/2024-10-05-dance-with-dragonfly-the-pioneer-club.