News Release - “Path Through History Celebration” at Mount Hope Cemetery

City of Rochester

News Release 

(Friday, June 5, 2015) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren invites the community to celebrate Rochester’s rich heritage at Mount Hope Cemetery’s “Path Through History Celebration,” to be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 20 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, June 21. Events feature “living history” performances by re-enactors portraying Rochester’s notable residents, a family-friendly kid’s tent, lectures and tours to celebrate the history of Mount Hope. The Celebration is organized in conjunction with New York State’s “Path Through History Weekend” efforts to encourage visitors and residents to discover, experience and appreciate our state’s past through hundreds of events at historic and cultural destinations throughout the state.

“The quality of life we enjoy in New York—in our great nation for that matter—would not be possible today if not for the contributions of great freedom fighters such as Rochester’s own Susan B. Anthony or Frederick Douglass,” said Mayor Warren. “There isn’t a more appropriate site to host our Path Through History events than the beautiful and historic Mount Hope Cemetery. As we work to provide more vibrant neighborhoods, jobs and better educational opportunities in Rochester, it is important to take time to pay homage to those who spent their lives creating a better nation for us all, and to ensure that future generations are aware of their contributions.”

On Saturday, June 20, the community is invited to enjoy poetry and living history as told by a variety of re-enactors portraying such prominent Rochester leaders as Reverend Thomas James, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. The Celebration starts at 10 a.m. and will be located near the Florentine Fountain, accessible from the Mt. Hope Avenue North entrance. Parking is available in and around the cemetery. Admission is free and merchandise and food will be available for purchase. A Rochester History Series tour, “Death as in Life-Institutional Plots,” will be led by the Friends of Mount Hope for $7 (free for FOMH members and children under 16 accompanied by a paying adult) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Two free lectures are scheduled at the College Town Barnes & Noble bookstore adjacent to the cemetery at the corner of Mt. Hope and Elmwood Avenues: At 1 p.m.., City Landscape Architect JoAnn Beck presents “Fletcher Steele – A Pioneer of Landscape Architecture”; at 2 p.m., retired Librarian and Author Dennis Bielewicz presents “Heroes in the Attic – A Story of Two Civil War Soldiers.”

On Sunday, June 21, visitors to the cemetery may take part in free self-guided tours of 17 gravesites of historically prominent people buried at Mount Hope and visit information areas during regular cemetery hours, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. At 10 a.m., the Friends of Mount Hope will provide a guided Jewish Roots Tour highlighting the significant contributions of our community’s Jewish members (tickets $7, free for FOMH members and children under 16 accompanied by a paying adult). A general guided tour will start at 2 p.m., covering historic people, horticulture and architecture (tickets $5, free for FOMH members and children under 16 accompanied by a paying adult). Tour participants should use the Mt. Hope Avenue North entrance and meet at the gatehouse.

A full schedule of events, lectures and tours being offered at the Path Through History Celebration at Mount Hope Cemetery is posted at www.cityofrochester.gov/historypath.

More information about the State’s Path Through History Weekend may be found at www.iloveny.com/paththroughhistoryweekend.

Founded in 1838, Mount Hope Cemetery is a 196-acre functioning cemetery that hosts over 350,000 graves and boasts incredible Victorian architecture and landscaping. Mount Hope’s natural beauty, monuments and headstones, unique and open scattering gardens and stunning structures such as the 1912 Chapel makes Mount Hope a truly unique destination.

The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery is a non-profit organization of volunteers founded in 1980 to restore, preserve and encourage the public use and enjoyment of Mount Hope Cemetery.

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News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo at 428-7135.