Green-Wood Cemetery Announces Fall 2023 Programming

With the days getting shorter and a new season on the horizon, the Green-Wood Cemetery has announced its upcoming slate of fall 2023 programming.

From September through December, the Brooklyn cemetery will be hosting a variety of programs and tours, which includes several engaging live performances, community gatherings, walking and trolley tours, intimate discussions regarding the concept of death, and much more.

“This upcoming season, Green-Wood will once again present a range of opportunities for visitors of all ages to learn, to discover, and to enjoy. We’re bringing back all our perennial favorites — Nightfall, Open Doors and Spirited Strolls — but also introducing some new experiences, from captivating tours to compelling conversations in death education,” said Harry Weil, vice president of Education and Programming for the Green-Wood Cemetery.

The new season will kick off on Sept. 7, when the Green-Wood Cemetery presents From Canvas to Stage: A Tribute to Basquiat. The event will feature a lineup of acclaimed poets and musicians that will pay tribute to the groundbreaking artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was laid to rest at the Brooklyn cemetery following his passing.

On Sept. 24, Green-Wood will host Open Doors, a self-guided tour where visitors will have the opportunity to explore some of the cemetery’s elaborate nineteenth-century mausoleums.

During Oct. 4th and 5th, music will be in the air for Green-Wood’s Concerts in the Catacombs series. The two-day event, curated by singer and songwriter Gelsey Bell, will feature live performances from Anaïs Maviel, a vocalist and composer that combines traditional and experimental elements into her music.

The lives of cemetery guests will certainly get brighter during Green-Wood’s annual adults-only event, Nightfall, on Oct. 19-20. This year’s iteration is titled Danse Macabre, and will put guests on an long-winding, illuminated path filled with several entertainers to discover along the way — including musicians, performance artists, and storytellers.

From Oct. 15 through Nov. 5, the cemetery will be showcasing a new art installation, titled Mictlan. Presented by Brooklyn-based artist Cinthya Santos-Briones, the installation commemorates Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) by drawing inspiration from both ancient and modern conceptions of death in Mexico.

On Nov. 1, the cemetery will continue to honor the Day of the Dead tradition by hosting its Día de los Muertos: Family Day event. The annual event will give local residents the chance to honor departed loved ones through prayer, altars, music and dance. Crafts, activities, and food will also be available for families with children of all ages.

The fall season will see the continuation of Green-Wood’s popular trolley tours, which allows visitors to learn about the history and architecture of the cemetery. Between Oct. 7 through Nov. 19, guests can learn about such topics as true crime stories, a history of memorialization in the queer community, Egypt-inspired structures throughout the cemetery, and much more.

Stepping out of the trolleys, the cemetery will also be hosting a variety of educational walking tours for Brooklynites of all-ages. Between Oct. 8 and Nov. 24, guests can engage in a variety of sights and subjects, including ill-fated voyages, etchings and symbols in Green-Wood’s century-old monuments, beautiful foliage, Halloween-themed tales, among others.

Finally, from Sept. 12 through Dec. 14, Green-Wood will host numerous free death education programs in an effort to encourage honest discussion regarding a subject that can be challenging to talk about.

Among the death education programs planned include a “Death Cafe”, a pop-up installation, a look into the history of cremation, and more to check out.

For more information about Green-Wood Cemetery’s lineup of fall events, head over to green-wood.com/calendar.