By popular demand a second tour and lunch have been added!
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, on Saturday, October 4 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 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. Come experience how cemetery life is for the living!
Tickets are $30 for the general public and $28 for members of the Museum. Tickets include boxed lunch, water/lemonade, and one-hour walking tour through Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, located at 302 E. Miller Street. Participation is limited to 30 people. Please dress for the weather and walking. We will walk approximately one mile over a one-hour period, standing and stopping between various sites. The tour will begin and end at the entrance to the cemetery with lunch prior to the tour.
This program is a part of the Museum's Mourning in McLean programming series. It's accompanying display will be up from September 15 through November 21, 2025 on three floors of the Museum. Mourning in McLean is presented by Pontiac Granite Co., with major support from East Lawn Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens. Additional contributions provided by Evergreen Memorial Cemetery and Kibler-Brady-Ruestman Memorial Home.
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