Family members, friends and community members gathered at a pond in southeast Calgary Tuesday night to honour the life of a young girl who drowned there over the weekend.
The candlelight vigil, organized by six-year-old Drihanna Matamona’s family, brought together dozens of people near the Legacy pond where the tragedy occurred.
Drihanna’s godmother and aunt said the outpouring of support from the community has been a source of comfort as they grieve.
Several attendees said they came to stand with the family and pay their respects, including some who knew the family through the neighbourhood.
“We could like hear the memorial and build up a community so that they could be loved and stuff,” one young attendee said.
Family members remembered Drihanna as a bright and joyful young girl.
The vigil comes two days after she died. Emergency crews were called to the storm pond in the Legacy community around 1:15 p.m. Sunday following reports of a possible drowning.
A family member pulled Drihanna from the water while bystanders began CPR before firefighters, paramedics and police arrived. Despite extensive resuscitation efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the hours following her death, flowers, notes and other tributes were left along the shore of the pond as residents mourned the loss and offered support to the family.
The family plans to host a second candlelight vigil at the LegacypPond on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Drihanna Matamona, 7, drowned in a SE Calgary pond on July 12, 2026. (GoFundMe)
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