MEMPHIS, Tenn — It's an unusual time for the historic Elmwood Cemetery, during a pandemic, but it's also the traditional busiest time of the year.
This weekend, employees and volunteers should be preparing to host Soul of the City, a fundraising event, which has been canceled. Instead, Elmwood turned that experience into a film that will premiere Saturday night.
Traditionally, the Soul of the City event would bring thousands to the grounds for interactive tours. Actors dress the part of the people buried at the cemetery to tell their story.
Back in late July, volunteer actors went to the cemetery to record their roles for the film.
"It is our encapsulated version of the tour brought to the citizens of Memphis and we did this out of respect for history. We did this out love," Kim Bearden, Elmwood Cemetery Executive Director, said.
The film will feature civil rights photographer Ernest Withers, the first wife of Machine Gun Kelly and Roberta Church, the daughter of the first Black millionaire Robert Church. Many others will also be featured.
“All of these people are buried at Elmwood so we hope that people that watch the film realize by watching it that Elmwood is the final resting place of a very diverse group of individuals and they truly reflect the citizens of Memphis," Bearden said.
Bearden said despite the canceled event, October is normally the most active time for the cemetery.
"The reason, I think, is the fall colors are so striking, we have so many trees," she said. "The leaves are changing colors and people really want to come out.”
Bearden said during the recent months of the pandemic, she's noticed an increase of visitors walking and running the grounds. Tours are also selling out fast but that's also due to the limited number of people they're able to take along on them.
"We’re having a hard time meeting the need of people who want to get out of the house and come and take a tour of the cemetery," she said.
While tour sizes are limited and field trips have been canceled, it hasn't necessarily been all bad news for the historic grounds. Bearden said it has meant an increase in business.
"We have experienced a marked increase in our what we call pre-need business, cemetery services," she said. "People are at home right now and they’re thinking long term and taking on many parts of their lives that they’ve normally put on the back burner.”
Elmwood Cemetery is open daily, for free, for visitors from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Soul of the City film will premiere Saturday, Oct. 10, on Elmwood Cemetery's website here at 7 p.m. The film will be free to watch for everyone.