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EASTON, Pa. – A new Community Day at the Easton Cemetery looks to bring the city’s residents together on September 17 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. for a day of fun, recreation, history, food and neighborly connection.
The free event (thehistoriceastoncemetery.org/upcoming-events), organized by Friends of the Easton Cemetery and West Ward Community Initiative, will occur throughout the historic, parklike, 100-acre cemetery, 401 N. 7th Street. Parking will not be permitted inside the cemetery on Community Day; nearby street parking is recommended.
Docent-led cemetery tours will be offered hourly throughout the day, as well as a scavenger hunt for all ages. Walk with a Doc (10 a.m. – 11 a.m.) will invite walkers and rollers of all ages, fitness levels and backgrounds to advance wellness through nature – and provide opportunities to ask health-related questions to a physician. From 11 a.m. – noon, Brent Mackzo of Easton Yoga will offer a yoga and movement session.
For those who would prefer to tour the cemetery in style, horse and carriage rides will be offered every half hour between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (tickets available at website). Attendees can also tour beautified French graves and hear native plant talks with master gardeners.
Those curious in genealogy can bring their family history and confer with staff from Lafayette College and Easton Area Public Library to help discover family roots and provide answers.
Representatives from the Center for Animal Health and Welfare will have furry friends to meet. The Nature Nurture center will have family-centered outdoor activities. And food from La Frikitona and Sunnie’s Bake Shop will be available.
Event partners include West Ward Community Initiative, Friends of the Easton Cemetery, Easton Cemetery Master Gardeners and Grave Gardeners, Brent Mackzo / Easton Yoga, Saucon Valley Carriage, Nature Nurture Center, Center for Animal Health & Welfare, La Frikitona, Sunnie’s Bake Shoppe, Walk with a Doc, PA Dept of Conversation and Natural Resources, Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania, Skillman Library/Lafayette College and Easton Area Public Library.
About the Easton Cemetery
Established in 1849, Easton Cemetery is the earliest and best surviving example of a romantic parklike cemetery within the Lehigh Valley metro area. Its parklike cemetery landscape design is based on the picturesque romantic styles of the early and late 19th century. Its landscape is set with thousands of examples of funeral artwork, in a variety of decorative styles, spanning Greco-Roman Revival, Gothic Victorian, and Art Deco. Easton Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Unlike many historic cemeteries, the Historic Easton Cemetery still an active cemetery, and burials still occur on a regular basis.
Many cemeteries today are facing the problem of changing patterns in burying the dead with many families opting out of traditional customs and Easton Cemetery is no exception. The main source of income had been from burials, but this is no longer the case. The cemetery faces serious financial issues today just to keep the grounds open and in good repair, to say nothing of the need for building and gravestone restoration. It is most important that we are able to build up the endowment fund to the level where it can not only supply the funds needed each year to cover the cemetery costs, but also allow for needed repairs and improvements. The cemetery maintenance crew of two full-time employees is responsible for over 100 acres, 9 miles of roads, thousands of monuments and removal of leaves and snow.
Monetary donations received at public events help us to continue programming such as the self-guided tour booklets, educational programming and a grave gardener program, which includes over 30 volunteer gardeners.
More:
Social: IG: https://www.instagram.com/historiceastoncemetery/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historiceastoncemetery/
About West Ward Community Initiative
The West Ward Community Initiative was launched in 2019 by the Greater Easton Development Partnership. It is an initiative made possible through a Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit Program (NAP) grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (PA DCED). It is a program of the Greater Easton Development Partnership (GEDP). GEDP is a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization focused on Easton’s economic well-being, historical integrity, vibrant culture, and hospitality. GEDP is comprised of Easton Farmers’ Market, Easton Main Street Initiative, Easton Public Market, PA Bacon Fest, the Easton Ambassadors and many other programs. More: eastonpartnership.org.
Information provided to TVL by:
Michael Drabenstott (for GEDP)
Drabenstott Communications Group
