Thursday, November 18, 2010

Angels on the Bluff



I hope you all had a great week. I did too, busy as usual! Anyway, it's time to relax for a little bit now and go sightseeing. You might not think the cemetery is not exactly the best place to visit but our cemetery is one of the most famous ones in the country with so many intersting people buried there. Besides, there was a special annual event that went on that we did not want to miss. I want to share it with you. The event sells out every year and this time, I made sure I reserved the tickets early.




I am also linking with Linda for Junkin Finds at http://ljm-alacarte.blogspot.com/

Beverly for Pink Saturday at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Laurie for Favorites Saturday at http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/



Before we go to the cemetery (we are not really in a hurry to get there, are we?) , let me show you my pink junkin' find and favorite for today. I bought these 2 vases from another vendor at the store. The one on the left was $1 and the one on the right was $2. Now, tell me, who can resist prices like that! I could just turn around and sell them for more in my booth but let me use them first on one of my vignettes or tablescapes. Aren't they just the cutest? They are pretty tall too!





Ok, now to the cemetery. The Angels on the Bluff is an annual event here in Natchez, usually around Halloween, where reenactment of the lives of the one who is buried there is portrayed, usually by their descendants wearing period costumes.


They really do a lot of preparations for this that is why people come from all over to watch.

Even Carol of The Writer's Porch, came all the way from Hattiesburg with her husband. She said she tries to get a ticket every year but they are always sold out by the time she reserves, so this year, she placed a note on her computer terminal reminding herself to buy tickets the first day they go for sale. It worked! I was so happy to meet her and her hubby. They are such sweet people.

This is the first act that we saw. The tomb is empty because the one who was supposed to be buried here, a HS student, fell from a ferry and drowned and was never found. The actor was so good that I had to ask John if he was the real father. I mean he was even tearful telling us how he did not know that the person he tried to help by throwing him a life saver, was his son. John laughed cause all these happened a long time ago, some of them in 1800's.


Ginny Benoist, as Madame Marguerite Justine Belhomme Marchand Benoist Mezeix “The milliner of Natchez,” stood before her grave and gave an account of her life. The Milliner of Natchez is known for her hats that appear in the Henry Norman photographs.



Next, we were treated to the story of Vaughn, portrayed by Doug Broome of the First Baptist Church. Vaughn edited the first Baptist newspaper in Mississippi and served as pastor at First Baptist Church. He was one of the founding members of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.


This was a total surprise. We were walking towards the next stop when we heard "Amazing Grace" being sang by a young lady, on top of a hill.

It was a pleasant surprise indeed. Isn't that a pretty oak tree?


Owen was the president at Natchez College for many years. The university was first supported by black Baptists of Mississippi and flourished under Owen’s leadership


While on our way towards our next destination, we passed by the graves of the unknown civil war soldiers.


This was one of my favorites, I think because the setting was very elegant. This is about the Fleming Family and their story of love and tragedy was told. The family owns one of the antebellum mansions in Natchez called the Towers.


This guy had the funniest story. He is actually a local attorney and he is a great great nephew of the deceased buried here. He portrayed himself as the deceased and gave us stories about things that happened mostly while he was drunk. Evidently, the deceased loved to drink.



Diana Glaze portrayed jazz singer Marian Montgomery. Yep, she was performing in the cemetery by Marian's family grave.

That was the last show and I cannot wait for next year's Angels on the Bluff. They portray different people's lives every year. It is never the same.

Carol and Eric really enjoyed it and I am sure they will be back.

After the cemetery, the bus took us back to the visitor center where we parked our vehicles.

We headed to a restaurant called Magnolia Grill which was located right across the Mississippi River, and had dinner there.

I had a redfish topped with crab, some veggies and a baked sweet potato. Uhmmm, yummy! Actually, all of us except for John had this red fish. It was so good!

My friend Debjani, joined us. I had originally purchased a ticket for my mom too but after finding out that we had to walk, I knew she could not do it. Debjani tried to buy a ticket but they were sold out so I gave her my mom's ticket.
Thank you so much for joining me on another interesting trip.
And thank you to all our gracious hostesses!

28 comments:

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Those vases are so different and very cute.
Thank you so much for the wonderful tour of the cemetery. I have never heard of anything like that, what a treat. I do love going to a cemetery during the day to see the headstones.
When we went to Chicago we visited the Bohemian National Cemetery which is very old and there were so many beautiful statues. I didn't have time to walk around more but I would have liked to.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

What a fun post! I love the vases and think they look like fun inspiration for a tablescape. The cemetary tour looks like great fun! Thanks for joining Junkin Finds Friday!

Kat said...

First off Christine, those vases are adorable. And what a bargain. Secondly, I loved the tour of the cemetery. What a neat event. I love old cemeteries and all the history you can find there. It looks like you all had a great time. How is your mom doing? Kat

Entertaining Women said...

I've never heard of an event like this. It looks like you all had a marvelous evening. Glad that you were able to secure tickets this year. Thank you for sharing the stories and for stopping by my post. Come visit any time. Cherry Kay

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

What a fabulous event. Love that there is so much history and it is all relied. Sounds like a wonderful evening. Your vases are so cute too. Hugs, Marty

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Sounds like a fun thing to do - thanks for sharing your evening with us. Your dinner looks yummy.
Have a great weekend.

Marlis said...

those are darling vases.. The cemetary event is wonderful. When do the tickets go on sale? Omg this would be ghoulishly great.. thanks for sharing.

Sarah said...

Christine, this sounds like an interesting event. Thanks for sharing the photos and the details.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. ~ Sarah

Debbiedoos said...

What a neat trip...we love stuff like this too. Cute vases, I bet you will come up with something clever and classy to show us.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a fun night, Christine! I loved seeing the photos of the event.

Rettabug said...

Christine, this is a fantastic recap of what appears to be a delightful event...surprising, given the subject matter! I got goose bumps from seeing your great shots & reading all about it. Thanks for telling us...I had no idea it existed.

I noticed your DH's Michigan shirt...my step-son, the orthopedic surgeon, played football for Michigan & even went to the Rose Bowl in 1983!
GO BLUE!

Sue said...

Christine, you ALWAYS take us on the most interesting trips! This one was really unique, and really- quite fun. I like your vase purchases- they'll make for a whimsical vignette. The one on the right reminds me a bit of those Russian nesting dolls. LOL Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration next week. :-) Sue

PAINTORDIG.blogspot.com said...

I SO WANT TO COME TO THIS NEXT YEAR!PLEASE REMIND ME WHEN IT IS TIME TO GET TICKETS!I LOVE THE PIC OF THE LADY SINGING UNDER THE TREE WITH ALL OF THE SPANISH MOSS HANGING DOWN.

Donnie said...

Those vases are really pretty. That cemetery tour was really elaborate. Happy Pink Saturday and also Happy Thanksgiving.

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

What a great tour Christine. I'm a little surprised that you will attend this - might be ghosts around! It looked like the costumes were wonderful, and it sounds like it was so interesting. Your vases are so unique and cute! Can't wait to see them on a tablescape. Thank you for linking up. Wishing y'all a wonderful Thanksgiving. laurie

Maggie said...

Hi Christine,
It sounds like a great (but sort of spooky) experience and how much fun it must have been to meet Carol at last.
Hope you have a marvellous week.
Maggie.

Unknown said...

Love the tour of the cemetery. What fun. Happy Pink Saturday. Hey I'm having a giveaway!

Maggie said...

What a fun post- and I love the tour!

Sorry for the late visit- I think of busy Saturdays as a "Pink Weekend" since it takes me that long to visit everyone!

Happy belated PS!

In shoes we trust,
Maggie Mae@
"Do these shoes match this purse?"

Katie@LeBeauPaonVictorien said...

How very cool this is! Fascinating! I think I had read of something similar at an old cemetary in Chicago, but we were unable to get tickets to it.
I wish there was something like this where I live!

Diann said...

Wow, that looked like a wonderful trip! Every detail looks amazing! And your new vases are so cute!

Dolores said...

The trip/tour looks like so much fun..... great pictures!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Christine, that looks like you all had a blast. Natchez' cemetery is lovely, and it is so interesting. Thanks for the tour! I'm so glad you got to meet these sweet bloggy friends, too.

And I love your cute vases. Great finds there.

Speaking of great, thanks so much for your great comments on Eddie's blog. I appreciate them SO much, Christine, and I just wanted you to know. You are such a special friend, and I cherish our friendship and hope that SOME DAY we will get to meet in person.

Love you much...

XO,

Sheila :-)

Erin said...

Love the vases, how cool are those? Looks like a neat trip!

The Tablescaper said...

This is so cool. I've never heard of such a thing. How neat to bring back memories and history. I can see why it's sold out!

Thanks so much for being a part of Seasonal Sundays!

- The Tablescaper

Savannah Granny said...

Love the vases. I can't understand why someone had not purchased them. They are so adorable.
Thanks for the tour of the cemetery. This is so unique and a grand tribute to their loved ones. Glad to get to see it through your eyes. Hugs, Ginger

Sonny G said...

Christine..
that cemetery is amazingly beautiful and you took such great photos for us too...

I've never had Redfish, so I'm glad you said what it was and that it had a great taste..

thanks for taking us along on such a wonderful evening...

Kathleen said...

Amazing! I have never heard of that! Kind of spooky though! :)

Traci said...

What an unique event! I've never heard of anything like it.

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