Events
Visitors are welcome to step back into history and experience eighty acres of stately trees and statuary in the beautiful blend of nature and art that is Elmwood Cemetery.
Please come by the Victorian Carpenter Gothic Cottage which serves as our Visitor Center for maps, audio tours, picnic tables and handicap accessible restrooms. Research assistance is also available in the cottage, and security is on the grounds during business hours.
There is no charge to visit Elmwood.
Gayoso Bayou: Then & Now
Named for the Spanish governor Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, the Gayoso Bayou was a five-mile long drainage canal that wound its way through the city of Memphis. It formed a natural boundary for the city when it was first layed out in 1819 and played an important role in the devastating yellow fever epidemics of the 1870s. Though mostly buried today, the bayou still flows beneath present-day Danny Thomas Blvd. Historian Jimmy Ogle has explored the Gayoso Bayou and shares his advertures during this presentation.
Lunch is served with this event. Starts in the Chapel at noon.
Public Docent Walking Tour
For more than a decade, the volunteer Elmwood docents have led tours of the cemetery grounds. These all-walking tours are open to the public. Tours leave the Cottage at 10:30 a.m. and last about 90 minutes. The cost is $10/person and no advance registration is required. We recommend weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy walking shoes for this tour.
Advance Directives for Healthcare Decisions
Individuals have the right to make their own healthcare decisions. But what if you became incapable of making healthcare decisions for yourself because of injury or illness? The Advance Care Plan tells your physician how you want to be treated if you are terminally ill or permanently unconscious. It also allows you to appoint a person to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. Join Elmwood volunteer Jim Dennis in this conversation about an important aspect of life.
Breakfast is served with this event. Begins at 9:00 a.m. in the Chapel.
Elmwood: "a park for the living, a resting place for the dead"
You've always been fascinated by "that cemetery on the side of the interstate" and want to know more about it, but you're not sure where to start. THIS is the presentation to attend! Elmwood's Executive Director Kimberly McCollum invites you to join her for lunch while she illuminates what it is that makes Elmwood so incredibly unique.
Lunch will be served. Admission is $10 and advance registration is required. This presentation begins at noon in the Chapel.
Public Docent Walking Tour
For more than a decade, the volunteer Elmwood docents have led tours of the cemetery grounds. These all-walking tours are open to the public. Tours leave the Cottage at 10:30 a.m. and last about 90 minutes. The cost is $10/person and no advance registration is required. We recommend weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy walking shoes for this tour.
Arbor Day 5K Run/Walk
You've never experienced the grounds of the cemetery like this! Enjoy a brisk walk or a competitive RUN through the grounds of Elmwood. The race will begin at 6:00 p.m. and beverages and food will follow in the Chapel. Participants will receive a t-shirt commemorating the event! The cost to participate is $20 per person.
Tree Tour of Elmwood
Elmwood is home to almost 1,500 trees. Many of these trees are tagged, but there's so much more to know about a tree than its scientific and common name. Some of the trees that live in Elmwood are older than the cemetery!
Join staff horticulturist Kim Rucker as she leads a tree tour of the cemetery grounds. Cost for the tour is $5 per person. The tour begins at 10:30 a.m.
Springtime Tea & Garden Tour
Elmwood Cemetery in spring is simply breathtaking. The flowers have budded, the trees have begun to bloom, and the grass is verdant. Elmwood was designed as a park for the living; the nature found within the cemetery truly celebrates life.
Enjoy a lovely afternoon tea at Elmwood. Scones, lemon squares, brownies, and of course tea will be served at 1:00 p.m. Afterwards, a 45 minute walking tour of the gardens surrounding the Cottage will be offered by staff horticulturist Kim Rucker.
Admission for this event is $15 per person and advance registration is required. Comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing is recommended.
Designing For The Dead: Elmwood's Mausoleums
Nine mausoleums stand in Elmwood, and each of them represents a unique architectural style. Elmwood's Historian Jorja Frazier delves into each "sleeping chamber" and what makes them special.
Lunch is served with this event. Begins at noon in the Chapel.
Pawing Through History: A Dog-Friendly Tour
Bring the pups to Elmwood! We ask that all dogs remain on a leash while a docent takes the group around the cemetery for an all-walking history tour. This tour starts at 10:30 a.m. and will last approximately 90 minutes. Space for this tour is limited to 25 people and advance registration is required. The cost for this tour is $10 per person.
We kindly ask that you leave grumpy pups at home.