Think of it as Halloween meets the History Channel.
On Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, a limited number of people will take a step back in time to meet pioneers who lived and worked in the Sedona area.
During the journey they will experience the pioneers’ triumphs and tragedies of more than a century ago.
Voices From the Grave, presented by the Sedona Historical Society, will be part of an open air ghost walk with reenactments by professional actors at the graveyard where the original pioneers are interred. It will take place at Cook’s Cedar Glade Cemetery off Airport Road in West Sedona. Participants will be escorted from one pioneer grave site to another in a way that promotes social distancing.
The museum board and volunteers were looking for a way to have some kind of event and fundraiser that would be COVID-19 safe. They started by looking at the Sedona Historical Society’s assets such as its old buildings, cemeteries, fire trucks and others. The board said they settled on the historic cemeteries because many people are unsure they exist or don’t know much about them.
It worked out well being that the Cook Cemetery specifically needs some work and doesn’t have a benefactor or maintenance fund. With money raised from this event, it will provide funds for its upkeep.
“This is intended to be a fun but respectful look at a few of the pioneer characters of Sedona who are buried at the Cook Cedar Glade Cemetery,” Sedona Historical Society Board President Janeen Trevillyan said. “The professional actors will make it entertaining. The reenactments will focus on just a part of
each pioneer’s life — parts that will give insight into their contribution to the community, their personality or their hardships.
“Our goal is to make it entertaining and educational but mostly to help build appreciation for Sedona’s past and the interesting and strong people who got us started,” Trevillyan said.
Cook’s Cedar Glade Cemetery is where Sedona Schnebly, the town’s namesake, is buried along with members of other pioneer families such as Henry Cook, Jesse Purtymun, James Jackson, Margaret Pirtle, Nettie Van Deren, and ‘Red’ Hedges,
In terms of what the actors’ monologue will be, Trevillyan said they did research on the individuals being featured. In some cases they have family anecdotes they can rely on. Those from the museum familiar with these pioneer stories made sure to include more than just bare biographical facts.
“The actors have been given wide latitude in creating the script for their own character — respectful but tongue-in-cheek fun in some cases — and drama in others is their goal,” she said.
Each guest will receive a souvenir booklet with additional biographical information in it about the ‘ghosts’ they will be meeting. The actors will be story tellers in an almost conversational way with the small groups of guests that will visit each grave, Trevillyan said. For social distancing purposes, only four people will be at a grave at a time.
When determining which historical figures to include in the program, Trevillyan said she and Clancy Sage do most of the historian work at the museum and they run into interesting and entertaining or heart-string-pulling stories all the time. They looked at the burial plot plan and took their knowledge of the people to come up with a short list of figures they thought had interesting stories. It turns out they had more than they needed, so Shondra Jepperson, the producer of the event, narrowed it down with the actors’ help.
“I hate to give away any of the stories, but anyone who attends will understand why the pioneers were chosen after they hear the show,” Trevillyan said.
There will be two shows each day, one at 3 p.m. and another at 4:30 p.m., which are sold out. Because of its popularity, a 1 p.m. showing on Saturday, Oct. 24, has been added. Tickets are $20 per person and are now available at SedonaMuseum.org. For more information call 282-7038. Masks will be required and social distancing will be imposed.
