The 24th Annual Historical Cemetery Tour will take place Saturday, Oct. 26 from 9am to 3pm at Sunnyside and Long Beach Municipal Cemeteries.
The 24th Annual Historical Cemetery Tour will take place Oct. 26 from 9am to 3pm at Sunnyside and Long Beach Municipal Cemeteries.
The family-friendly tour takes place in the daytime and is appropriate for all ages, featuring graveside performances by actors who bring to life the stories of the person[s] lying at rest.
Featuring eight brand new performances, period-appropriate costuming is provided by the Long Beach Playhouse. The stories were hand-selected by Roxanne Patmor, board member of the Historical Society and Long Beach Playhouse, and retired Cal State Long Beach history professor Dr. Kaye Briegel. The scripts are written by Patmor, and the performances last seven to 10 minutes each with repeating showtimes every 20 minutes beginning at 9am and ending at 2:40pm.
Julie Bartolotto, Executive Director for the Historical Society of Long Beach said, “The stories of the people buried there are worthy of highlighting, those sites are very important and tell the story of how Long Beach came to be what it is now.”
Aside from the performances, other featured attractions include stories about local Japanese-American history from 1941 to 1942 and a Dia de los Muertos altar by Danny Flores.
Bartolotto quotes award-winning actress Viola Davis, “If you’re looking for good stories and scripts to be written, you can find them in a graveyard.”
The 24th Annual Historic Cemetery Tour is sponsored by the Long Beach Convention Visitors Bureau and is made possible with the contributions of about 100 volunteers.
Long Beach Municipal and Sunnyside Cemetery are located at 1095 and 1151 E. Willow St. Pre-Sale Tickets are available for $20, $8 for youth ages 5-18, and $1 for children 4 and under at hslb.org. Tickets are also available at the event from 8:30 am until 2:00 for $25, $8 for youth ages 5-18, and $1 for children 4 and under.
