Historic St. Luke’s presents Twilight Tours

Published 6:34 pm Saturday, October 15, 2016

Dead men don’t tell tales, but their tombstones do

Come enjoy the stories of local saints and sinners on a 35-minute, family-friendly guided cemetery tour Oct. 21 around Historic St. Luke’s 100 acres, where there have been burials since the 1600s.

Tours leave every 15 minutes beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the last tour at 8 p.m. The later tours will be conducted in fairly dark conditions with only minimal lighting. Flashlights will be provided, and pathways will be marked with glowsticks and reflective devices. If you have small children or prefer more visibility,  choose an earlier tour time.

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The cost is $10 per person and includes light refreshments after the experience. Tickets can be purchased online at historicstlukes.org. Some tour times have already sold out. Participants are asked to wear closed-toe shoes, carry minimal bags and bring a flashlight.

These cemetery twilight tours are being offered in part to educate attendees on the importance of cemetery preservation. With more than 650 grave markers just in the historic side of the cemetery, Historic St. Luke’s faces a daunting task to clean and preserve these stones. Donations and volunteers are needed. Staff members recently attended a cemetery preservation workshop run by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to learn how to properly care for these monuments.

One marker will be cleaned prior to the first tour, so visitors can see the effect of proper preservation.

Call 357-3367 for more information. The church is located at 14477 Benns Church Blvd., Smithfield.