Lunch, Learn & Listen: Cemetery Customs & Traditions of Days Gone By, Dining With the Dead

Enjoying a picnic in a cemetery was not always a taboo activity: Quite the contrary — a graveside lunch was once a popular leisure activity. People often dined while visiting loved ones, and city residents took advantage of cemeteries for strolls and carriage rides, too. Join Candace Summers, McLean County Museum of History senior director of education, for a walking tour of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery followed by a picnic lunch. Learn about Victorian-era funerary customs and superstitions, explore the cemetery’s monuments, and hear stories of some of the McLean County citizens who rest there. Price includes a one-hour guided walking tour and boxed lunch. Note: Please dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes, as participants will walk approximately one mile over a one-hour period, standing and stopping between various sites. In the event of rain, the program will be held indoors at Heartland Community College. Registration deadline is Oct. 4.