They’ve got the night life!
Hundreds of adventurous Brooklynites will creep through Green-Wood Cemetery this weekend, during an eerie two-night event packed with circus acts, arcane stories, and delightfully dark musical performances. “Nightfall” descends on the graveyard on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26, bringing an ensemble of ominous performances to the rolling hills of the graveyard, said its director of programs and projects.
“When people enter the cemetery, they’ll wander from station to station. And there will be around a dozen sites — from storytellers to film screenings to performances,” said Harry Weil. “They’ll encounter these things at every twist and turn as they wander the cemetery.”
Guests can freely wander the burial ground, encountering acrobats and fire-eaters from Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, a history lecture from the group Morbid Anatomy, and eerie sounds from the Death of Classical music group, which will perform in an underground catacomb, said Weil.
“You’ll get to have all these different experiences,” he said. “There will be a lot of surprises for people.”
Wandering through a cemetery at night may seem ghoulish, but organizers have aimed to strike a tone that is more spiritual than spooky, said Weil.
“It’s more of an ethereal experience,” he said. “We always try to lean away from being ‘Halloween-y’ and spooky — partly because we are an active cemetery, so it’s important to respect that. So, there’s nothing scary or gruesome or morbid about it.”
The theme of the evening is “lovesick,” and all of the night’s films, music, and performances will reflect the pains — and the pleasures — of romance.
Green-Wood hosts many family-friendly events throughout the year, but “Nightfall” attendees must be 21 or older, according to Weil.
“It’s not really geared towards children,” he said. “And, we do have bars that sell beer and wine.”
“Nightfall” at Green-Wood Cemetery [500 25th St. at Fifth Avenue in Greenwood Heights, (718) 768–7300, www.green
