Green-Wood

A Night at Niblo’s Garden
2020-09-12 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | NY
This popular event is back in 2020! Enjoy a Victorian extravaganza put on by our good friends at Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. Begin the evening with a picnic (bring your own) around beautiful Crescent Water before being dazzled by nineteenth-century showmanship: fire eaters, musicians, contortionists, performers on floats, and much more—all under the starry summer sky. The evening celebrates Green-Wood permanent resident William Niblo, whose pleasure garden (built in 1834) in New York City was one of the largest and most elaborate theaters of its time. Author Benjamin Feldman reprises his role as Mr. Niblo himself on this special evening.

How can A Night at Niblo’s Garden get any better? With the special VIP experience of course! Arrive an hour before the main show (at 6pm) to enjoy:

Exclusive private performances by Bindlestiff CirkusA tour of William Niblo’s famed mausoleum by Mr. Niblo (as played by Ben Feldman)Complimentary refreshments throughout the entire eveningAccess to prime seating before the general public arrives!

Picnics are welcome, but no coolers or outside alcohol are permitted. Water, wine, and beer will be available for purchase.

Location: This event takes place in the middle of the Cemetery. Walking maps are provided at check-in and trolley service is available. Check-in takes place at the Main Entrance at Fifth Avenue and 25th Street. There is no on-site parking available.

Regular Admission: $45 / $40 for members

VIP Experience: $80 / $75 for members

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Death Café
2020-09-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2020-10-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2020-11-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2020-12-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2021-01-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2021-02-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2021-03-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2021-04-17 18:30 - 20:00 and 16 more dates | Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11232, United States
The Death Café is inspired by the centuries-old European salon (or café), an informal gathering to discuss philosophical, political or scientific ideas. In 2011, British entrepreneur Jon Underwood brought this concept to discussions of the most universal topic of all: death. Underwood’s intention was to provide an opportunity to “increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their lives.” Today, there are over 4,400 Death Cafes in 26 countries around the world.
Green-Wood is proud to host monthly gatherings of the Death Café here in our beautiful, modern chapel. Amy Cunningham, death educator and creator of the Brooklyn-based blog TheInspiredFuneral.com, invites participants to share their thoughts and feelings on death. It’s an opportunity for safe and open exchanges, without an agenda. Tea and light snacks are provided.
“A place for people to discuss our inevitable fate.” – Gothamist
“It’s a reversal for American culture, which for a long time has shied away from these conversations.” – Village Voice
“[E]ncouraging people to talk about death more freely and naturally.” – Haaretz
Free to attend, RSVP recommended. Please register using the Eventbrite box below.
This program takes place in our Modern Chapel just to the right after passing through the Gothic Arches at the main entrance. All events will take place rain or shine. Click here for our inclement weather policy.

Mobile users: Please tap here for free registration.

The Moth Mainstage
2020-09-18 19:30 - 22:00 | NY
Credit: Jason Falchook

The Moth returns to Green-Wood! The Moth Mainstage is a specially curated evening featuring storytellers who develop and shape their stories with the show’s directors. Beyond the theater, the Mainstage is a community where entertainment and enlightenment merge. Because each story is true and every voice authentic, each show is a unique and intimate experience for the audience. Launched in 1997, The Moth showcases inspiring and professional storytellers at hundreds of shows, workshops, and special events throughout the United States.

Information on how to purchase tickets will be available in May 2020.

Location: This event takes place in the middle of the Cemetery, walking maps are provided at check-in, and a trolley service is available. Check-in takes place at the Main Entrance at Fifth Avenue and 25th Street. There is no on-site parking available.

Vigil
2020-09-21 00:00 - 2020-10-19 23:59 | NY
Installation on View:September 21st–October 19th10am–4pm

Leigh Davis’ audio installation Vigil engages the power of loss and memory through song. The work is rooted in her membership with the Threshold Choir, a community of women continuing the ancient tradition of bedside singing to the dying. The work is installed in Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel, a sacred space that has provided a place of solace and comfort for those grieving for over a century. Visitors can sit with others or move around at their own leisure. Those listening are encouraged to contemplate the complexity of mourning on both a personal and collective level.

For the past five years, Davis has been creating work that encourages community participation and discussion. She offers opportunities for individuals of various ages, cultural, and spiritual backgrounds to come together and share physical and emotional space. At a time when it is not easy to commune or console one another, Vigil provides an occasion to meditate and reflect on the universal experience of death.

Strict safety measures will be enforced: all visitors will be required to wear a mask and keep a distance of at least 6 feet while in the Historic Chapel.

We encourage visitors to download this pamphlet with the lyrics sung in Vigil as well as instructions for deep listening.

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A Lament for Troubled Times
2020-09-26 12:00 - 15:00 | NY
Please note: Performances will take place September 19th and 26th, from 12-3 pm. The program will repeat three times each day, beginning at the top of the hour (12 pm 1 pm, and 2 pm). Seating is limited and on a first come, first seated basis. An RSVP does not guarantee a seat. Attendees can only attend one performance an afternoon, and will need to queue in line (keeping a safe distance) before each performance. No chairs or blankets permitted.

In times of turmoil, music has a unique ability to unite us, and remind us of the things that truly matter. Green-Wood, in partnership with our friends at Death of Classical, is honored to present a quartet of members of The Harlem Chamber Players, performing music by George Walker and Florence Price. The performances take place atop the Hill of Graves, with sweeping views of Green-Wood’s idyllic landscape, and are free and open to the public.

The quartet will perform George Walker’s String Quartet No. 1 and Florence Price’s String Quartet in G major. Walker’s piece includes his profound Lyric – originally titled Lament – which was written in memory of his grandmother, who had been a slave. Price’s quartet, like all of her works, has a sound that is at once timeless and familiar, seamlessly incorporating African-American spirituals, European classical traditions, and her own unique musical voice.

Performances are located near the intersection of Meadow and Garland Avenues. To reach the site, look for signage starting at the main entrance and pick up a copy of the Visitors Map from a security guard or download this handy map. It is a 15-minute walk from Green-Wood’s Main Entrance.

Social distancing will be enforced at each performance. Attendees must wear masks and keep a distance of 6 feet from one another.

Free, but RSVP is recommended. Please consider a donation to help support free and low cost programs throughout the year.

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A Body in a Cemetery
2020-09-26 17:30 - 18:30 | NY
Important Notice: The performance will start 30-minutes earlier than originally scheduled at 5:30 PM.

Check-in will begin at 4:30 PM. We recommend arriving before 5:10 PM as the performance site is a 20-minute walk from the main entrance.

American cemeteries of the nineteenth century served a similar purpose to today’s public parks, as they once saw visitors picnicking on the grass, strolling down meandering paths, and socializing together as families. In the last century, however, these spaces have become more utilitarian in nature and often lack public engagement beyond funerals and grieving. Graveyard Shift, a collaboration between Green-Wood and Pioneer Works, proposes a new way of interacting with the space of the Cemetery by activating it through sight, sound, and movement.

A Body in a Cemetery is a new place-inspired performance conceived by internationally acclaimed artist Eiko Otake. It is presented as part of this year’s Graveyard Shift series.

From the artist: I have no intention to offer a theatrical production. My performance announcement is my promise to be there and to offer my body for a duration of time, together with other visitors. My lone body will mark the place and the time when audiences can gather to meditate on how landscapes hold not only the deaths of people throughout history, but also the flow of constant lives and deaths of all species. We will observe the Cemetery carefully and actively so we can hear the transformation of lives and deaths.

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Please note that we are unable to offer a member discount on this event. We apologize for any inconvenience.

About the ArtistEiko Otake is a choreographer and performer who has spent decades practicing dying and mourning for the dead. A Body in a Cemetery will be the latest manifestation of her solo project A Body in Places, which began in 2014 as a twelve-hour solo performance at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Various iterations of the project have continued since then, including a performance as part of The Hiroshima Panels exhibition at Pioneer Works in 2015, which was simultaneous with an exhibition of photographs of Eiko shot by William Johnston, A Body in Fukushima. Eiko performed A Body in Places last at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for three days in 2017. Other reflections on death include Offering at six Manhattan parks following 9-11, as well as Duet Project, which includes four partners who are now deceased.

About Pioneer WorksPioneer Works is a cultural center based in Red Hook, Brooklyn that is devoted to building community through the arts and sciences. Through a broad range of educational programs, performances, residencies, and exhibitions, Pioneer Works transcends disciplinary boundaries to foster a community where alternative modes of thought are activated and supported. We strive to make culture accessible to all.

Mandatory Safety Protocols– Face coverings must be worn at all times– Maintain 6 feet from other visitors and Cemetery staff and ambassadors– Complete a health questionnaire in advance of the performance– Sit only in designated areas and follow directions given by Cemetery staff and ambassadors– Maps and a program will be emailed in advance of the performance– Visitors will need to walk 20 minutes to and from the performance site over hilly terrain, proper footwear is recommended. For those with mobility issues, transportation can be provided from the Main Entrance.

On African American Death Practices Part I
2020-10-15 18:00 - 19:00 | NY
Death is the great equalizer, right? Why then have funerary and burial practices been racially segregated in the United States for centuries? Why does death care continue to be one of the most segregated sectors of the American economy? This discussion uses these questions as a starting point to trace the evolution of African American funeral practices through key moments in history and continuing shifts. We will also discuss the current state of affairs and what it might suggest about the changing landscape of America’s death culture more broadly. In Part I we will focus primarily on the history of African American death practices.

This program is presented as part of a new Death Education series at Green-Wood, Death & Us. Death is the great universal, but the ways in which the dead are grieved and memorialized vary across racial, cultural, and economic divides in the United States. This series brings together a myriad of voices—from historians and preservationists to activists and funeral practitioners—to explore how diverse communities mourn and commemorate the departed from our nation’s founding to today.

Free. A Zoom link will be in your confirmation email upon registration.

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