Dine with the Dead: Cemetery Customs and Traditions of Days Gone By

Back by popular demand! Enjoying a picnic in a cemetery was not always a taboo activity. Quite the contrary—a graveside lunch was a leisure activity for many. People often dined while visiting their dearly departed, and city residents regularly took advantage of cemeteries for strolls and carriage rides too. Beginning in the mid-1800s, cemeteries expanded beyond the confines of churchyards filled with foreboding monuments that reminded us to fear death and not to sin, and evolved into attractive gardens located outside of cities designed with relaxation and reflection in mind.

In the spirit (pun intended) of the age, enjoy a picnic lunch on the beautiful grounds of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery (one of Bloomington’s oldest cemeteries) and embark on a one-hour guided tour to learn about funerary customs of the Victorian-era, explore the types of monuments that populate the cemetery, and hear stories of some of the McLean County citizens who reside there. Candace Summers, Director of Community Education at the McLean County Museum of History, will facilitate the tour. Come experience how cemetery life is for the living!

Tickets includes tour, lunch, beverages. Please reply to an email that will be sent to you after the purchase as to your choice of box lunch.

Three box lunch choices:

• Turkey Club on Sourdough bread
• Chicken Salad on 12 grain bread
• House salad loaded with veggies (vegetarian option) with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Each lunch comes with chips, a sugar cookie and old fashioned lemonade/bottled water. All lunches are provided by Shannon's Café Downtown.

Thanks to our sponsors - The Painted Wraith Curiosity Shoppe in downtown Bloomington, IL and the Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.

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