Long Beach Historical Cemetery Tour

Long Beach Cemetery 2017 — Photo by Lori Nyx

Long Beach Historical Cemetery Tour

Hollywood Gothique Says:

Though not billed as a Halloween event, the Historical Society of Long Beach’s annual cemetery tour features actors portraying the souls of the dead, resurrected to relate their tales to the living. The result is a combination of cemetery tour and theatrical event, with the emphasis on history rather than horror. Solid scripting and amazing actors bring the past to life, though audiences are more likely to shed tears than emit screams. Recommended.

Long Beach Municipal Cemetery & Sunnyside Cemetery
1095 E. Willow Avenue, Long Beach 90806
www.hslb.org

2022 Date & Hours: Saturday, October 29, 9am-3pm. Tours take three hours to complete, with the last presentations beginning at 2:40pm.

Tickets (presale): $25 for non-members, $20 for members, $8 for ages 5-18. Tickets are on sale at the gate from 8:30am till noon.

2022 Info: The 26th Annual Historical Cemetery Tour features eight graveside presentations by professional actors portraying the life of the person lying at rest. Period-appropriate costuming is provided by the Long Beach Playhouse. The event features a Dia de los Muertos ofrenda, the Black Student Union Elders Association, Meet the Authors, grave finding, historical displays and imagery on local cemetery topics. Refreshments are available for purchase. HSLB will host a merchandise booth with local history books, postcards, and reprints of historical Long Beach photographs, available on-site.

Long Beach Historical Cemetery Tour General Information

The Historical Society of Long Beach conducts its annual living history tour at the city’s two oldest – and conveniently adjacent – cemeteries, located on Willow Street between Orange and California. The two-hour tours recount the stories of the lives and deaths of people from Long Beach’s past, through graveside performances by actors in period costume. New stories are featured every year depicting people who shaped the city’s history. The first-person performances last ten minutes, starting every 20 minutes from 9 am to 2:40 pm. Patrons who wish to see all performances are advised to arrive early.

The Historical Cemetery Tour is appropriate for all ages – this is not a scary Halloween event. Wear comfortable shoes and layered clothing (mornings are chilly but the day can heat up in the afternoon).

The event typically take place on the the final Saturday of October.