Recurring Programs

Cemetery Tour

14th Annual Washington Cemetery Tour

Friday, October 29, 2021, 6:30-8:30pm

Registration is now closed.

The Cemetery Tour is at full capacity. We are limiting  attendance to allow for proper social distancing. We are not allowing any drop-in participation or increasing capacity of the tour. We invite you to join the waitlist by clicking here, then select the” Register” button, followed by selecting the “Join Waitlist” button. If you are selected for an open ticket from the waitlist, you will automatically be notified via email about your ticket. No in-person walk-ins will be allowed on the tour this year. 

Unable to attend? We are sorry we cannot accommodate a larger number of participants but we do want to keep our community safe, as well as our volunteers. The tour will be filmed, please check back for the opportunity to watch it via our YouTube Channel.

The Washington Cemetery Tour is an annual “living history” event produced by the Gunn Museum with the support of local theater luminaries, Doug and Martha Winkel of The Dramalites, showcasing the rich history of Washington using costumed actors to portray residents from the past. In this year’s tour, which will be in-person, we will be sharing new stories about “Residents of The Green”; the untold, fascinating accounts of those who lived and worked around Washington Green in the past. Costumed tour guides with lanterns will lead groups of visitors along a magical path of 1,000 luminarias, spanning a quarter-mile from the Gunn Museum through the shadowy Washington Green Cemetery, where the town’s departed citizens will be stationed at their graves to tell their true tales. The rain date is Sat. Oct. 30, 6:30-8:30pm. New this year: Free tickets are required to attend and can only be obtained in advance by online reservation starting on October 1 at gunnmuseum.org

No onsite tickets will be available as in years past. Attendees must check in at the booth in the museum parking lot 15 minutes before your tour departure time. Please print your tickets or have them ready on your phone when you check in. If you are late and miss your tour, we cannot add you to another tour.

The Washington Green Cemetery Tour starts at the Gunn Historical Museum at 5 Wykeham Road, Washington, CT. Tours depart every ten minutes between 6:30 and 8:30 pm and last approximately one hour. The First Congregational Church at 6 Kirby Road, across the street from the Museum, will be a stop on the Cemetery Tour this year. The Gunn Library and Museum buildings will not be open during the tour this year due to the ongoing pandemic. While there is no fee for this event, donations are greatly appreciated. All funds raised support the Gunn Historical Museum.

We ask that you please be mindful and select a time slot that you are certain you can attend, so that the tours can run smoothly the evening of the Cemetery Tour. No changes can be made to online reservations the day of the Cemetery Tour. If, for any reason, you need to cancel or change your time slot, you must do so online by Wednesday, October 27. You may cancel your ticket online and then re-register, if space allows.

Tour guests are encouraged to bring a flashlight, dress warmly, wear comfortable walking shoes, and carpool since parking is limited. The Washington Cemetery Tour will adhere to COVID safety protocols; please be mindful of social distancing and we strongly encourage all attendees to wear face masks. The rain date for the Cemetery Tour is Saturday, October 30 from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Parking is limited. Be sure to allocate extra time to find a parking space and check in. Please park in one of the following designated parking lots or nearby side streets if the lots are full: Gunn Library parking lot at 5 Wykeham Road or Washington Club Hall parking lot at 92 Green Hill Road.

Current members of Friends of the Gunn Historical Museum will be given preference for the special members-only tour at 6:20pm (first come, first serve, until filled) and should pre-register online or by calling the museum at 860-868-7756 before October 1 to reserve their tickets for this first tour. If you aren’t currently a member, click here to join online: www.gunnlibrary.org/gunn-museum/museum-support/

“The Washington Cemetery Tour is my favorite annual event. I enjoy bringing friends to hear the stories of people who lived here years ago” says area resident Rich Pomerantz. “It’s incredibly special to see the cemetery path lined in candlelit luminaries as we are guided by local area students dressed in period costume,” says Pomerantz. “It’s one of the best things to do in our wonderful town. I look forward to it each year.”

Thank you to this year’s Washington Cemetery Tour Sponsors to Date!:

Ericson Insurance Advisors

George Home

Klemm Real Estate

Paul Hirschauer at Guaranteed Rate

The Matthews Group

Union Savings Bank

William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty

Lighting is generously provided by Big Wave Events, Inc.

If you’d like to become a sponsor, contact: jchapin@biblio.org

There was no in-person tour in 2020 due to the pandemic. Instead, a pre-recorded virtual cemetery tour was released online. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the video. For more information and behind-the-scenes photos from filming, click here: 13th Annual Washington Cemetery Tour 10.30.2020