Actors bring history to life during two Cherry Blossom Festival tours in Macon

History will come to life at this year's Cherry Blossom Festival as two key sites offer walking tours with elements of reality.

Riverside Cemetery will host a Spring Spirit Stroll each night of the festival, while Ocmulgee National Monument will host lantern tours both weekends. Each tour will feature actors portraying people of historic significance.

SPRING SPIRIT STROLL

"Spring Stroll lasts about an hour and our spirits are actors re-enacting the historical stories of the people who are buried out here," said Steve Bell, executive director of the cemetery's conservancy. "There are a little less than 19,000 people buried out here so there are lots of wonderful stories of people's lives. ... And that's what we like to showcase -- some of the really interesting people who lived here, some of the accomplishments they made, some of the hardships they endured."

The stroll is an earlier, shorter version of the Spirits in October tour, which happens after dark and features about eight stories.

"Every year our spirit tours continue to grow, so people really enjoy it and when they come back out -- because there are so many people interred here and so many different stories -- there are new stories to hear," Bell said.

The tour also will include points of interest in the cemetery.

"Sometimes they'll point out symbolism of the cemetery art and what it may mean. They'll point out notable people in the history of our community," Bell said. "So as you stroll along, our guides are talking about the cemetery and as you come up, the actors -- in period costumes -- will tell you about their lives and the history."

The stroll is family-friendly and the tours will start at 6 p.m. daily March 25-April 3 from the cemetery gate at 1301 Riverside Drive. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the gate or in advance at www.riverside cemetery.xorbia.com. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $8.

LANTERN LIGHT TOURS

Ocmulgee National Monument has hosted lantern tours during the Cherry Blossom Festival for a number of years but is adding something extra to this year's walk.

Actors will portray a British trader and Mrs. Mary Dunlap -- whose family once owned and farmed the land where the monument stands.

"Instead of a third-person, this-is-what-happened-type story, we're going to try and do more of, 'I'm this person and this is what my life was like,' " said Angela Bates, interpretative ranger for Ocmulgee National Monument.

The tour will start at the Visitor's Center and feature four optional stops on the way to the Great Temple Mound. The first stop will be Mrs. Dunlap.

"In 1856, (the Dunlaps) built the house that is still standing today and she'll talk about what life was like post Civil War," Bates said. "She's going to pretend like it's right after the two battles that took place here."

Both the Battle of Dunlap Hill and the Battle of Walnut Creek took place on the property in 1864, and Ocmulgee still has evidence of the earthworks built by Confederate soldiers to protect the railroad.

There will be a ranger at the Earth Lodge stop, and an actor will be at the site of the former British trading post, which operated from 1690 to 1715.

"He's going to talk about what his job was as a trader and his involvement with the Native Americans that were here, what he traded, for what price and what he got in return," Bates said.

There will be another ranger between the Great Temple Mound and the Lesser Temple Mound.

"So (visitors) will get two first-person programs and two third-person programs," Bates said.

Nearly 200 luminaries will line the walk from the Visitors' Center to the Great Temple Mound.

"It's over a half-mile stretch, so it looks really pretty," Bates said.

The tours will run from 7:30-9 p.m. March 25-27 and April 1-3 with groups leaving the Visitors' Center every 10 minutes. Tickets are $5 for ages 13 and older and are sold at the event. The monument is located at 1207 Emery Highway and information is available at 478-752-8257.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Actors bring history to life during two Cherry Blossom Festival tours in Macon."