Mountain View Cemetery Events - A Tour for Every Season

CGS members can join our "Naughty and Notorious Tour" of Mountain View Cemetery on March 21. You may not know, however, that this famed, park-like cemetery of 226 acres in North Oakland also offers free tours every second and fourth Saturday.

We just missed a Black History Tour that happened on February 22 but it is an annual event, so mark your calendar for next year.

One of the spectacular floral displays from a previous Tulip Festival

The weekend of March 27-29 is the 14^th Annual Tulip Exhibit, which features spectacular floral arrangements created by Bay Area florists, garden clubs, and local college floral design classes. On March 28, Jane Leroe and Michael Colbruno will lead a tour for Women’s History Month, highlighting the lives of influential women such as Julia Morgan, Ina Coolbrith, and Anna Head.

April is when the cemetery hosts the Ching Ming Festival (remembrance of ancestors). This year, it is held April 4-5. On April 25, docent Chris Pattillo, a CGS board member, will lead a tour exploring the Trees of Mountain View Cemetery. 

Deodar Cedar at the Miller pyramid tomb on Millionaire's Row
at Mountain View

Local historian Dennis Evanosky gives a great tour following the Memorial Day Commemoration at the Civil War Plot on May 25. Jack London’s father is buried in the plot, as is Obediah Summers – an African American who served during the war. This tour starts after the commemoration event, at about 11 a.m.

Obediah Summers is buried in the Civil War Plot

Dennis also leads a June 27 tour about the California Gold Rush and Railroad.

This is just a smattering of the Mountain View offerings in 2020; other events include concerts, seasonal festivals, and more. Tours usually start at 10 a.m. and run about two hours. Plan to meet at the office just inside the cemetery gate. For complete details, visit their website: https://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/

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