NEW YORK TIMES: New York Today - For World AIDS Day, a candlelight observance

Today is World AIDS Day — 40 years and five months after The Times’s first story about AIDS, then so new it did not have a name. Today is also the fifth anniversary of the dedication of the New York City AIDS Memorial.

This afternoon the memorial will present “Words of Remembrance,” a poetry reading led by New Yorkers who are living with H.I.V., followed by a candlelight vigil. The candlelight will come from 250 votive candles designed by the French sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel.

Dave Harper, the memorial’s executive director, said he had approached Othoniel about creating art for a fund-raising project. “Jean-Michel asked that we help him create a tribute to those lost by having 250 handblown votives made in his design and etched with the words ‘I believe in fairies,” Harper said. “He wanted to do something that was cheap or free, and we went with free to allow anyone who comes to the event to take something with them.”