\n<\/p>\n
R<\/span>odney Anonymous, lead singer of the punk rock band The Dead Milkmen, has performed in venues around the world. His favorite place to play live is filled with the dead at the Laurel Hill cemetery in Philadelphia, where he used to ride his bike as a kid.<\/p>\n The acoustics are great, and when there\u2019s a full moon, there\u2019s no place like it, the singer said. The band, whose songs include Punk Rock Girl and Bitchin\u2019 Camaro, have played at the burial grounds at least five times since 2012, and have plans to appear again next year.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife and I were there for movie night and a lightbulb went off and I thought: \u2018Well, let me write them and ask. What\u2019s the worst that could happen? They say no and then they bury me alive?\u2019\u201d said Anonymous, who described the cemetery as the \u201chappy place\u201d for the couple.<\/p>\n Cemeteries nationwide are coming up with creative ways to liven up \u2013 sorry<\/em> \u2013 their wide-open green spaces. From a beekeeping collective in Seattle to \u201cNight of Grief\u201d karaoke in Washington DC, cemetery owners say events help them reconnect with the local community and sometimes bring in some much-needed funds. Visitors say they enjoy the cool vibe, family- and dog-friendly areas and innovative ideas.<\/p>\n Cemeteries have always been community spaces in the United States, said David Sloane, author of Is the Cemetery Dead? and professor at the University of Southern California. Because many were public green spaces, families would come on Sundays to picnic on the grounds or take walks along the paths, he said.<\/p>\n <\/span>A gardening class at Spring Grove cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.<\/span> Photograph: Brian Heinz<\/p>\n In the late 20th century, that collective use faded. Sloane remembers that his father, who was superintendent of Oakwood cemetery in Syracuse, New York, got a lot of backlash from the community for letting people jog through it.<\/p>\n Sloane sees the resurgence of cemetery culture as part of a larger shift as people move away from traditional burials to cremation, and a way to bring in some income. According to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), 61.8% of Americans chose cremation in 2024, up from 56.2% in 2020. The Canadian rate reached 76.7%, up from 73.7% in 2020, respectively.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a move from a very restrictive idea to a broader sense of what\u2019s OK [to do in a cemetery],\u201d he said. \u201cInstead of just a choral group in a chapel, now it\u2019s a rock group in a mausoleum.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Heinz, director of horticulture and arboriculture at Spring Grove, an 180-year-old, 750-acre (300-hectare) cemetery and arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio, said they offer community horticulture tours, container gardening and lantern-lighting ceremonies. They also collaborate with the University of Cincinnati\u2019s horticulture program, teaching plant-identification classes.<\/p>\n Heinz said the approach of using cemetery spaces for cultural opportunities started changing in the 1980s, and then really expanded in the 2000s.<\/p>\n At Spring Grove for 26 years, he said that as an operating burial ground, it\u2019s sometimes a delicate balance between community and cemetery. Spring Grove operates a four-car tram to give tours, and it\u2019s critical to adjust the route to accommodate the burial schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little more of a challenge for the docents, because they\u2019re more structured with their script, and they have mausoleums and people and their history \u2013 the stories that they want to talk about,\u201d he said. \u201cIt almost pains them a bit if they\u2019re not able to get by certain people, but the drivers and the docents will check in before the tour to our office and look at the daily schedule and adjust.\u201d<\/p>\n In Washington DC, Laura Lyster-Mensh is the death doula-in-residence at the 33-acre Congressional cemetery, where thecformer FBI director J Edgar Hoover and former DC mayor Marion Barry are buried. As people started moving to the suburbs, it became harder to keep up the cemetery and it became unkempt and dangerous, she said.<\/p>\n <\/span>Cailin Kiefhaber and her daughter and dog, Simon, in Congressional cemetery in Washington DC on 8 March 2024.<\/span> Photograph: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades \/Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p>\n In 1997, neighbors formed the K9 Corps, whose members pay $400-$500 a year to be able to walk their dogs off-leash during specific hours. At one point, the group had a three-year waiting list, and now dues cover 25% of the cemetery\u2019s operating costs, according to the website.<\/p>\n It saved the cemetery, Lyster-Mensh said.<\/p>\n Now, the cemetery offers several events, including tours, death cafes and a book club entitled Tomes and Tombs. One of the biggest events is an outdoor theater night in October called Soul Strolls, where people walk by lantern light through the grounds, and people \u201cappear\u201d at the graves to tell stories. Most events are free, but the Soul Strolls tickets were $40 for general admission in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my favorite activities was Bad Art Day \u2026 a lot of people are weighed down by their stuff and the things that they didn\u2019t get done, their art supplies and their aspirational crafts kind of really weigh on people,\u201d Lyster-Mensh said. \u201cSo we had a day where we invited people to come in and dump all their drawers and boxes of craft and art supplies, and that we would all make bad art with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Nancy Goldenberg, CEO of Laurel Hill in Philadelphia, said the income from ticketed events like Market of the Macabre bring in some money, but it\u2019s only a small portion of the budget. The craft show, which costs $5-$10 to attend, offers vendors selling dollhouse-sized caskets and zombie Sesame Street characters. The aim of the tours and programming is to introduce people to Laurel Hill and build visibility and awareness, particularly for first-time visitors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may be really cool to go see Eraserhead in a cemetery. That was such a cool event, let\u2019s go back and go to the market,\u201d Goldenberg said. \u201cIt\u2019s about building affinity and building an audience and having them understand the importance of this historic site in the region and to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>The Evergreen Washelli cemetery in Seattle, Washington, where the brain of Mary Sara is buried with her remains in an unmarked grave after it was returned from the Smithsonian, on 29 August 2023.<\/span> Photograph: Washington Post\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Some cemeteries have opened up to non-paying residents. At the 145-acre Evergreen Washelli in Seattle, the Catacomb Bee Collective tends to 20 beehives on site, said Madison Opp, a beekeeper and beekeeping educator. It started in 2021 with a simple phone call to the main office, she said, adding that the grounds are particularly attractive because of the flowering trees and the longer grasses.<\/p>\n The hives are located near a bird sanctuary, far enough away from the active part of the grounds that people sometimes have a hard time finding them, she said. Beekeepers help tend the grounds and check on the hives every other week, harvesting honey once a year, she said.<\/p>\n The hope is to offer beekeeping classes and offer honey to those saying goodbye to loved ones, a little something to offset the sadness.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve actually had families who specifically request a gravesite near the bees,\u201d said Opp. \u201cIt\u2019s really sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n