Elgin history will come to life this weekend during cemetery walk
Voices from Elgin's past will come to life this weekend during the 34th Bluff City Cemetery Walk.
The Elgin History Museum event is back live after having to be held virtually last year, and, for the first time, it has expanded to two days, with two shows each on Saturday and Sunday.
Co-chairs Rudy and Lillian Galfi, who won a Mayor's Award for Preservation for last year's online version, said they're looking forward to being back with live audiences.
“That (Mayor's Award) was a nice reward, but being live and being able to see the people's reaction after an actor finishes their presentation, and hearing the applause, that gives you a really nice feeling,” Rudy Galfi said.
The walks will be held at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sunday at the 108-year-old cemetery at 945 Bluff City Blvd.
Another new feature this year is that tickets only will be sold in advance through an online ticket service. The $15 tickets can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets, where visitors will choose which showtime they wish to attend. Each showtime is limited to 175 people and will feature a shotgun start of seven groups, one at each presentation.
“This way, it will move through the presentations more smoothly,” Galfi said.
The walk will feature six character presentations and a vignette. This year's featured character is Daniel Broadnax Sr., a well-known Elgin resident who arrived in 1925, eventually opening a shoe repair shop at 450 Dundee Ave. He will be portrayed by his grandson Rage Ledbetter.
“He's just really thrilled to death to be doing this,” Galfi said.
Last year's filmed version of the walk garnered more than 2,500 YouTube views, many from people outside the state of Illinois.
“Some people commented that they were longtime Elginites who had moved away and were happy to see the walk again, which was a really cool comment to see,” Galfi said.
That factored into their decision to offer the walk online again this year. They completed filming a couple of weeks ago and are in the editing stage. The show will be online beginning Oct. 3 and will feature the same $15 ticket price. All the money raised from the cemetery walk goes to the Elgin History Museum.
Galfi said visitors to the walk could expect more than just a history report with facts and dates.
“You'll get that information,” he said. “But the way we write scripts, we want to create a meaningful story about these people to give you a glimpse into their lives.”