Tag Archives: Travel

Bonaventure After Hours: My Skully Valentine

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One of the phrases I use quite a bit, “Bonaventure is for lovers.” Its a phrase that either makes people smile or in my case as cemetery storyteller in an old Southern city garners some scornful or cringey looks. I, however, am of the school of thought and have always found them to be romantic places. In high school when I worked as a groundskeeper in Rantoul, Illinois’ Maplewood Cemetery, I thought nothing of taking a girl on a date there. I’d bake a quiche, grab a blanket and drive just outside of town to the little 1840’s patch on a hill surrounded by budding cornfields under the stars. There was this one modern granite vault that was perfect for throwing a blanket over. We’d climb up spread out and dine. Ah, good times. Even if I’m now the voice that says, “Kids, don’t climb on the vaults.” 

I’m not sure how widespread this was in history, but at least in Savannah, if a man were serious about a woman in the whole “Til’ death do us part,” thing, the tradition was to go to the cemetery to propose to her. The couple’s families would wait outside of the gates, and if she said, “Yes,” they walked out holding hands. If she declined, I guess they had other formalities. Its no wonder Bonaventure has so many weddings then. I remember one Halloween weekend? There were 19 over a few days and 6 or 7 on the actual Halloween date. Good times. I myself told a story at a wedding in Bonaventure 2 years ago on Halloween night and gifted the couple a story at the grave I plan to feature on the upcoming “Bonaventure After Hours: My Skully Valentine” event, February 16th, 5 PM to 8 PM. Its not a story I often do publicly but I positively love and covet it and only share it on special occasions so am excited to break it out again!

Which, yes, this will be a special Bonaventure After Hours where I will highlight stories of couples and even some singles who were perhaps too unbridled for marital bonds but had some adventures all of the same! Naturally, per “real life” and my style, these stories will range from what happens when the love was written by someone above, and then what happens when it full on flies off the rails and nobody gets out unscathed! Either way, guests will find the whole experience leaving them insatiable and everyone will want a cigarette following the adventure. Yes, that good.

This 2.5 Hour spectacle includes the Official Event Poster, “Love, Truth & Stories,” signed by myself and runs $44.95. This event WILL SELL OUT & as of this posting we’re more than halfway there so get your tickets now at 912.319.5600 or just click BOOK NOW anywhere on the website! Come fall in love with Bonaventure and what we do!

Listen To Shannon recite his lover’s tribute, “Media of Two.”

Official Poster

 

 

Why Tour Bonaventure Cemetery?

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One of Savannah’s oldest sayings, and always hovering in the Top 5, “You haven’t been to Savannah until you’ve been to Bonaventure.”

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Photo By Shannon Scott (C) 2018

The moment you get to town, you’re going to hear people talking about Bonaventure, as if it’s their coolest cousin. You know, like that one who went to school abroad and took up modeling for awhile. This may sound peculiar or downright bizarre, but if you’re REALLY paying attention to your new cultural surroundings, you’ll start to realize that it’s not so strange and entirely normal. And that to not go, or to not rearrange your schedule for the sake of exploring The South’s most famous cemetery, is truly missing out on the chance of joining a special club. Plus, you wanna meet our coolest cousin same time right?

It doesn’t matter if you don’t like cemeteries. have never toured in one, or history isn’t “your thing.” Trust us. Forget what you think you know or don’t know, open your mind and just let the Bonaventure Cemetery magic happen to you. It defies, then treats. 

Once you make the 10-minute trek from Downtown Savannah to Bonaventure Cemetery, you won’t have any other questions about “Why Bonaventure?”  Or. why almost 1,000,000, annually, make what we call “The Bonaventure Journey.” The massive, plantation era live oaks greeting you will just make one say, “Oh. Wow, now I get it.”  As you start to peer through the entrance, your spirit will take over and before you know it, you’ll be floating through the gates. Then “POOF,” you disappear for what will probably be hours. You know how it goes in your favorite art museum. One marble statue leads to the next, and then security is kicking you out.

Moreover, Bonaventure quickly demonstrates how the famous Savannah downtown in many ways belongs in life legacy, to those buried here. We call it putting faces to buildings. And those human stories are just as wildly colorful and delightfully decrepit as are some of the buildings they once occupied! Really Bonaventure and Savannah will start to feel like the same place. One doesn’t just read the start of a book and then stop in the middle. At least not The Savannah Story anyway. The ending tells much about all of the other parts. Bonaventure is like that. You have to read this story until the end. Then you can go home and speak of your trip with the fullness it deserves. 

People ask, “Well, is it free, and can we go on our own?” Positively. Bonaventure is open 365 days, 8AM to 5PM. But here’s our practical appeal, and yes, sales pitch. It’s a dizzying 200 tree covered and shrub-populated acres. Think cemetery jungle. And the freebie maps are only so useful, which is us being nice. Even for the most confident explorer, it ends up being more like wander-lost. We see many well-intentioned visitors bite off more than they can chew and throw in the towel, shrugging, “We didn’t know a tour was available” or “We’ll come back next time.”  We say, “Get it right the first time!”

What we provide is organized, informed and impassioned storytelling wanderlust. Shannon Scott’s Bonaventure Cemetery Journeys has been doing it longer than anyone, more often, and offers more on-site experiences than any other company in Savannah. Click our TOURS tab to learn more!