This Halloween, a seven-year staple in Southeast Portland is closing its gates: Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery's Tour of Untimely Departures.
But this doesn't mean the cemetery's pumping the brakes on other major projects – or that the popular Halloween tour won't return in the future.
Instead of committing to months of preparation for the tour, Friends of the Lone Fir Cemetery, the nonprofit behind the event, is turning its attention to work that has been put on the back burner by the October event.
Representatives say they couldn't be more relieved.
"I usually start preparing for the tour in May," said Frank Schaefer, who has been the tour's event coordinator for four years. "It was exhausting, and took time away from other projects on the verge of derailment."
Instead of rounding up volunteers, tour guides, decorations and other event necessities, Schaefer says the organization now has time to focus on other priorities. One of those is the One Stone at a Time project, an effort to reinforce and refurbish old, unstable gravestones, funded in part by the cemetery's proprietor, Metro.
"It's time we give back to the cemetery," said Rachel Fox, Metro's cemetery manager.
The Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery kicked off the tour in 2005, both to cut down on Halloween vandalism and educate the community on the important – and at times, creepy – history buried underneath. The tour became a quick tradition, with last year's event drawing a record 1,600 attendees.
That translated to $14,000 for preservation, restoration and education efforts in the cemetery. Another $4,000 goes to Metro's cemeteries fund.
While Fox is also glad the tour is taking a hiatus to pursue different projects, she sees it returning to the cemetery in the near future.
"It's just suspended for a year," Fox said. "With more community support, perhaps help from a professional actor group, it can live on."
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