Explore Historic Oakland Cemetery, where Atlanta's history lives.
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Upcoming Events & Tours
Join us as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Historic Oakland Foundation with an unforgettable evening honoring Oakland Cemetery’s rich history and enduring legacy. This milestone event brings together friends, supporters, and community members to celebrate, preserve, and share the stories of Oakland Cemetery.
Atlanta’s liveliest Cemetery music festival returns to Oakland for its 48th year!
Inspired by the Victorian tradition of spending a leisurely day in the cemetery, Oakland’s iconic Sunday in the Park ft. Tunes from the Tombs festival blends live music, history, and family fun in one unique experience.
Bring big ideas to life with a week full of crafting, building, and inventing! Campers will explore a range of creative skills—from sewing and sculpting to imaginative design and hands-on construction.
History, theatre, and the thrill of Halloween converge at one of Atlanta’s most iconic autumn traditions: Oakland Cemetery’s Capturing the Spirit of Oakland, now in its 20th year. Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours will take place October 15 - 18 & 22 - 25.
History, theatre, and the thrill of Halloween converge at one of Atlanta’s most iconic autumn traditions: Oakland Cemetery’s Capturing the Spirit of Oakland, now in its 20th year. Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours will take place October 15 - 18 & 22 - 25.
50 Years of Historic Oakland Foundation
For five decades, we’ve worked tirelessly to preserve, restore, enhance, and share Oakland Cemetery—Atlanta’s oldest public burial ground and a cherished green space for culture and connection.
We’re celebrating our 50th Anniversary through a year-long series of events, including our once-in-a-lifetime Golden Jubilee Picnic. Join us in honoring our past, celebrating our present, and envisioning our future together.
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Latest News
What does a day in the life of a Cemetery CEO look like? (It’s a lot more lively than you might envision!) Get the inside scoop from Historic Oakland Foundation’s CEO & President Richard Harker.
"You never get a second chance to make a first impression," as the saying goes. For many visitors, Oakland Cemetery's iconic red-brick gate is their first glimpse of our 48-acre historic site.
To make sure that first impression is as striking as the rest of the grounds, we launched a fundraising campaign beginning in 2025 and embarked on a full-scale restoration of this beloved Atlanta landmark.
This year’s Juneteenth programming honors the generations that suffered under enslavement, shares the origins of Juneteenth, and celebrates Atlanta’s rich legacy of Black history, culture, and achievement
We are excited to share that the American Association for State and Local History has selected Historic Oakland Foundation as a recipient of the History in Progress Award and Award of Excellence for the Oakland Roots Academy, HOF’s workforce development program for high school students across Metro Atlanta.
While Historic Oakland Foundation is now supported by more than twenty full-time staff members, volunteer work remains at the heart of everything we accomplish. To honor the contributions our volunteers made and continue to make, we hosted an action-packed Week of Service from June 1–6.
Oakland’s stately, ever-welcoming front door is getting a major makeover. And now, the work has begun.
Meet the diverse & dynamic Atlanta artists, curated in partnership with Cat Eye Creative, who will transform Oakland for 2026’s illumine art experience.
Spring is set to spring at Oakland, and that means another exciting season of events in Atlanta for all ages!
Looking for free family activities, enriching arts classes, in-depth tours, or a unique date night? Whatever you’re searching for this spring, we’ve got you covered.
Built to hold plants, but now ready to welcome people, the Beaumont Allen Greenhouse is set to make its grand return.
If you happened to walk through Oakland on the morning of January 19, 2026, you would have spotted Oakland-branded beanies and Trees Atlanta t-shirts throughout the Cemetery, often clustered around piles of dirt, impressively sized root balls, or freshly-planted saplings.
Looking for an engaging, hands-on day of learning that gets kids out of the house? Look no further — Oakland Homeschool Days are back!
We are excited to announce a collaboration with The Grief House to relocate the Atlanta Wind Phone to historic Oakland Cemetery in Spring 2026.
2025 has been an amazing year. In this season of gratitude, I am so grateful and proud of the staff, volunteers, partners, community, visitors, donors, and members who make Oakland what it is: a vibrant part of the community, unlike any cemetery in the country.
We are excited to share that our 2026 Camps are open for registration.
This year, we’re offering eight week-long Atlanta summer camps for school vacation, as well as a Winter Break Camp from February 16–20, Spring Break Camp from April 6–10, and a Fall Break Camp from October 12–16.
Oakland's main western gate is one of the Cemetery's most recognizable symbols. For over a hundred years, visitors have walked through the grand archway on their way to a service, to visit a loved one, to attend a walking tour or event, or simply to stroll Oakland's lush 48 acres.
In the “Century Club” series, Oakland’s preservationists will highlight the fascinating lives and stories of Oakland residents who lived to be 100 years old.
However you connect with Oakland, if its grounds are meaningful to you, you probably care about keeping its gardens and monuments in the best condition possible for generations to come.
Our annual Fall Plant Sale is fast approaching and we are so excited to share the wonderful selection of trees, shrubs, perennials, edibles and houseplants with you this year!
For the first time in over 140 years, Oakland Cemetery is offering a new opportunity for resting spaces on its historic grounds.
This summer, we welcomed over 100 campers to our second year of Oakland Camps! But what exactly were these campers up to that whole time? Let’s find out!
July may not be graduation season for most schools, but here at Oakland, we’re celebrating our own class of 2025!
Oakland’s Original Six Acres is known by many as the oldest and one of the most beautiful sections of the cemetery. But after nearly two centuries, many of its paths, monuments, gates, and headstones are in serious need of care. Learn more about our upcoming plans to restore the remaining four acres in this section.
These past few weeks, Oakland’s grounds haven’t been the silent, solemn setting you might expect; instead, they’ve been alive with the constant sounds of laughter, games, and activity.
Meet the six musical artists slated to perform at Oakland’s 2025 Sunday in the Park festival!
Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery hosts more weddings than funerals. With ornate monuments, colorful gardens, and charming, spacious buildings, Oakland is one of the most memorable places in Atlanta to host a private event.
Let’s take a tour of some of Oakland’s most unique event spaces!
Even for the most experienced of designers, developing a new brand for a 175-year-old cemetery in the heart of Atlanta isn’t something you do every day.
Meet Oakland’s Director of Education and Youth Programs and learn more about exciting 2025 Summer programs for kids!
Oakland is a cemetery, and so much more. With the opening of our Visitor Center and launch of our refreshed brand, we invite you to experience Oakland as a place for both remembrance and discovery.
