Spirits Alive is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of Portland, Maine’s historic Eastern Cemetery through a range of activities including promotion and education.

Upcoming Events

Clean-up and Gardening
Saturday, May 1, 2021
9am to 12 noon

We’ll be sprucing up the site for the season! If you’re interested in helping us pick up the remnants of a long winter and a little planting, pruning and raking, please email us and bring your mask!

Pre-Memorial Day Flagging
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
11am to 12 noon

Using some mini versions of Old Glory, we will decorate our veterans’ markers in remembrance of their service to our country. If you'd like to help, please email us. We will gather—socially distant and masked—and provide maps and information to find all markers.

Find out more about our Tours & Events.

Tours & Conservation Days Again

We are thrilled to report that we will have a guided tour and stone conservation season again—complete with careful adherence to COVID-19 regulations to keep you all safe.

Walking Tours
June 1 to October 13, 2021
Daily at 4:00pm

Join us on a guided walk through the cemetery and hear stories of those interred, a history of the design and shape of gravestones, and how the site fits into the formation of Portland, Maine. If you can’t make 4:00pm, but would still like a tour, let us know!

FMI: Walking Tours

Stone Conservation & Restoration
Saturday, June 5, 2021 to Fall
Most Wednesdays, Saturdays

Join us to learn about basic stone conservation methods including cleaning, simple resets, minor repair, and lots of digging.

FMI: Stone Conservation & Preservation

Support Eastern Cemetery

You can help Spirits Alive keep the Eastern Cemetery alive for generations to come. Through your support, you can help us, an ALL-VOLUNTEER organization, to continue to:

• Keep the gates open – encouraging the community to explore its open and safe green space

• Offer education about the cemetery and its residents to the public – through tours, lectures, and events

• Encourage and support the city in keeping the site clean and safe for visitors of all ages

• Preserve this incredible outdoor museum and sacred historic landscape