Did You Know Americans Used to Hang Out and Have Picnics in Graveyards?
Date: Thursday, October 29, 2026
Time: 12:00-1:00pm
Location: White Horse/Jean Rd, Plymouth, MA 02360 (Across the street from the CVS and Gellars)
In the 19th century dining near gravestones was seen as a form of reverence, not irreverence. It wasn’t uncommon for families to make day trips to cemeteries, visiting loved ones’ graves, cleaning them, and then spreading out a blanket for a picnic. Americans of this time embraced it as part of their social and cultural life, and other cultures worldwide continue dining with the dead as a tradition.
And even today, many of us love wandering through old cemeteries, reading headstones, noticing names and dates, and imagining the lives behind them? You may be a taphophile, someone with a fondness for cemeteries, their history, art, and stories.
Join Minessa Konecky of SSWBN for a Death Picnic at historic Manomet Cemetery, established in 1806. Bring your lunch, a blanket or chair, and your curiosity. We’ll eat together, explore the cemetery, and talk about the people buried there, cemetery history, remembrance, and our own thoughts about death and mortality.
Friends are welcome. Please dress for the weather and be respectful of this active burial ground and those visiting loved ones.
