Using cemetaries for....

[fireheart17]

yoga, pilates, cafes, florists?

There have been suggestions for one of my local cemeteries to allow the gardens to be used for other purposes. The place is MASSIVE, with a zillion and one gardens spread throughout the area.

Your thoughts?

Personally I think some of the activities suggested are horrible (sport, cafes etc.) however some of the more calming activities could be done tastefully (yoga and mediation for example)

[Sleepwalker]

Quiet meetings seem appropriate. Sports teams and commerce do not, and I'd hope the cemetery would keep a tight hold of its rights to evict disrespectful 'clients'.

[HYHYBT]

Aside from the extra traffic killing the grass, it's often hard to open your property to outside use for some purpose without opening it for all.

[Amanita]

In the cosplay community, the subject of using cemeteries as photoshoot locations comes up from time to time. Personally I am not against it, as long as some basic rules are followed:

-If possible, pick a historical cemetery that has not had any new burials in many years- there's less chance of inadvertently bothering or offending people on site to pay respects.

-Keep behavior respectful- no loud or rowdy behavior, or horseplay. Taking photos is fine, but don't let it turn into a LARP session. Staging a series of still poses between characters to suggest a fight is one thing, actually having a mock fight is another.

-Respect cemetery property. That means no climbing or sitting on anything not meant for that purpose, and being very careful around old headstones- they are fragile and easily damaged.

If anyone's wondering why use a cemetery for a costumed photoshoot, why not? Some characters are right at home in such an environment, and if serious artiste-types can get away with doing photoshoots there, why not others? As long as respectful behavior is being observed, I would not call it offensive or disrespectful.

[Racket_Man]

this brings up an interesting point IMO. do you really want to (if you believe in these sorts of things):
"disturb" what is in the cemetary??
have "something" latch onto (as in escape) or bother you that is NOT nice or beneveolent????
(see Mis's paranormal thread on CS in the Off Topic section)
totally disrespect the purpose of said cemetary????

I have been told to be a bit carefull when visiting a cemetary because of who/what I am/may be. (yes I can feel the presense')


if one lets down their "guard" so to speak things can happen.

in most cultures the area set aside for the dead are sacred or holy places or places of respect for "those who have gone before us" (inmore secular cultures)

[fireheart17]

in most cultures the area set aside for the dead are sacred or holy places or places of respect for "those who have gone before us" (inmore secular cultures)

The cemetery in question is a multi-faith site.

This is the cemetery: http://www.centennialpark.org/

It's a really nice place, so I can picture something like meditation occurring there at LEAST. (it's also the place for MOST funerals to occur.)

[Panacea]

I guess it really depends on local values and how locals view the dead.

Personally, I like the idea of a cemetery where the living comingle with the dead in a celebration of the continuity of life . . . and there are some Asian cultures that do just that I believe.

Cemeteries are such a waste of land, generally speaking, which is partly why I plan to be cremated and the ashes scattered.

But if the locals sentiment is a cemetery is holy ground, then tread with care.

[fireheart17]

Cemeteries are such a waste of land, generally speaking, which is partly why I plan to be cremated and the ashes scattered.

But if the locals sentiment is a cemetery is holy ground, then tread with care.

Given that it's THE state cemetery almost (just about every second funeral is held there these days because there's a chapel and crematorium on site), the views may be mixed. There are areas of the park set aside for various denominations as well as several garden areas where people can have plaques laid down if their loved one was cremated.

[Lachrymose]

I've always joked that cemeteries are such a waste of good landfill space.

[powerboy]

I do not see a thing wrong with taking pictures at cemeteries. I do not think that a cafe is a good thing for it.

[Rantsylvania 6-5000]

Taking pictures is fine, but anything else is asking for trouble. I can see it now: discarded Starbuck's cups, shitty diapers, fast food wrappers, etc. And then there's the cemetery in Ventura, CA (where people are still buried), that has evolved into a dog park, so the yuppie assholes can let their dogs crap all over and they won't have to clean up after them!

[Jetfire]

I've always joked that cemeteries are such a waste of good landfill space.

That's not quite how mom sees it now, but it's close. Nowadays she just says it's just "Such a waste of space" when she sees a cemetery, especially some of the ones in the centre of the city.

Her mom was buried in a plot in the village she grew up in; but I think that was the last actual burial in my family. All the deaths I can think of since then have been cremations, with the urn being buried in 2 out of the 3 cases I can recall. (The last case, for my aunt, my uncle took her ashes to an island just off the coast and scattered them there.)

[fireheart17]

Taking pictures is fine, but anything else is asking for trouble. I can see it now: discarded Starbuck's cups, shitty diapers, fast food wrappers, etc. And then there's the cemetery in Ventura, CA (where people are still buried), that has evolved into a dog park, so the yuppie assholes can let their dogs crap all over and they won't have to clean up after them!

Like I mentioned earlier, I could also potentially see yoga or meditation classes occurring in some of the gardens. Fortunately this cemetery is better maintained than some of the others.

Out of my family we've had one burial and one cremation. Both were held at the location in the original post and the funeral companies handled it well. Although unfortunately for my grandfathers funeral, something weird happened: over the previous week I had recovered from a bout of laryngitis (including the day my grandfather died) and was down to a mild cough here and there. Of course the coffin had to have a HUGE spray of flowers over it. I don't know if it was the flowers or not, but I had a MASSIVE coughing fit in the chapel and had to sit outside for the rest of the service! I could not go back in there without having another coughing fit and needing to sit outside. I did manage to get back in just in time for the coffin to be carried out (I was allowed to sit in the front row being direct family and all, but for the procession out, I chose to sit in the back).

During the post-service tea and cookies for my cousin (the cremation), me, my sister and my step-cousin went for a walk around the place. The gardens were AMAZING. We kept trying to look around and see if our cousins name was going on a plaque there (it wasn't).

ETA: Starbucks is all but non-existent in my state. Gloria Jeans on the other hand....

[tropicsgoddess]

Quiet meditation or yoga? Yes. Anything else besides that? Hell no. I think it's disrespectful.