Tickets on Sale Now!
Adult: $40 | Children 12 & Under: $20 | VIP: $80
The United States was founded upon powerful ideals: freedom, equality, liberty, and representative government. 250 years ago, the Declaration of Independence boldly declared the birth of a new age of freedom, asserting that “All men are created equal.”
Yet, the United States failed to be what it imagined itself to be. Enslavement persisted. Women were denied political and legal equality. Native nations were displaced and brutalized. People without wealth, status, or social power were routinely excluded from the country’s promises.
Over time, America’s true form emerged and it was shaped by Americans who refused to accept these inequities. Across generations, activists, agitators, freedom seekers, reformers, and ordinary individuals pushed the nation closer to the ideals it claimed to represent.
In recognition and celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and brought to life by Congressional Cemetery’s interred residents, Soul Strolls: Becoming America explores this contested space between ideals and reality. Through the stories of those who came before, visitors will consider not only the values of America’s founding, but how generations of people have embodied what America truly is.
Our annual lantern-lit twilight tours bring the cemetery’s history to life through immersive performances by costumed interpreters. Journey through the grounds after dark, encounter Congressional Cemetery’s interred residents, and discover the lives and legacies that helped shape the nation.
Guests are encouraged to arrive early before their scheduled tour to enjoy live music, refreshments, and the atmosphere of an October evening in the cemetery. We plan to have a food truck available each evening, along with drinks and other refreshments for purchase. Attendee costumes are welcomed and encouraged!
VIP Tickets Include
Enjoy Soul Strolls with a smaller group and a few special additions. VIP tickets are $80 per person.
A VIP Tour Ticket includes:
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A smaller, more intimate tour group
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A Soul Strolls swag bag
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One complimentary drink ticket
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An exclusive additional performance available only to VIP guests
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Everything included with a standard Soul Strolls ticket
VIP ticket times are also queue times. VIP guests should follow the same arrival procedures and be in the designated and separate VIP queue by the time printed on their tickets.
Dates & Times
Soul Strolls is held on the evenings of October 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, and 31. Times and tour types vary depending on the day of the week. Please check your tour date, time, and type before purchasing, as there are no refunds or transfers.
Ticket Prices:
- Standard Admission: $40
- Children Under 12: $20
- VIP Admission: $80
Children must be accompanied by an adult. Children ages 4 and younger may attend free of charge. If bringing children 4 or younger, please ensure there is at least 1 ticketed adult per child in attendance.
Many gravestones may be unstable and attendees must NOT touch or lean on any gravestones during their Soul Strolls experience.
Important Ticketing & Tour Time Information
Tickets will go on sale on August 24 at 5:00 PM. To receive a link directly at 5:00 PM, please subscribe to receive our event emails.
The major change to Soul Strolls 2026 is our new tour queue system. To serve a larger audience, tours will be dispatched approximately every 10 minutes instead of at the traditional 15-minute intervals. Please read the following information carefully, as this system is new even for our most seasoned Soul Strollers!
When purchasing your ticket, you will select a tour queue time. The time on your ticket is the time by which you must be checked in and standing in the tour queue. It is not an exact departure time.
Tours will be assembled and dispatched continuously throughout the evening. Your exact departure time may vary based on attendance.
Guests may enter the event beginning approximately 30 minutes before their purchased queue time. We encourage you to use this time to check in, meet friends or other attendees, enjoy the event atmosphere, listen to our talented musician, purchase food or refreshments, and prepare for your tour.
Please keep the following in mind
- Plan to arrive approximately 30 minutes before your ticketed queue time.
- You must be checked in and standing in the tour queue by the time printed on your ticket.
- Your exact tour time once you are in the queue may vary.
- Staff will place guests on the next appropriate tour as groups are assembled and dispatched.
- Tours are limited to approximately 25 attendees.
- Arriving early does not guarantee placement on an earlier tour.
- Arriving late may result in a significant delay, and we cannot guarantee accommodation after your purchased queue time. Please arrive on time to prevent significant delays.
- A know before you go email will be sent a few days before the event with detailed information on check-in.
For example, a guest holding a 7:00 PM queue-time ticket should plan to arrive at approximately 6:30 PM. After checking in, the guest may enjoy the event grounds but must be standing in the tour queue no later than 7:00 PM. Staff will then place the guest on the appropriate tour as groups are assembled and dispatched.
Please plan your evening accordingly and allow for some flexibility. The time printed on your ticket is your required queue time, not a guaranteed tour-departure time.
Please note that all tours, including VIP, ASL, Mobility-Accessible, and Children’s, are all listed as queue times.
Before Purchasing Your Tickets
Please confirm that you have selected the correct:
- Event date
- Tour queue time
- Standard, VIP, Family-Friendly, ASL-Interpreted, or Mobility-Accessible experience
Except in the event of an emergency cancellation by Congressional Cemetery, there are NO refunds, transfers, or exchanges. Before purchasing, please carefully read the waiver language which includes our No Refund policy.
Standard Tour Experience
Standard Soul Strolls tickets include:
- A guided lantern-lit tour through Congressional Cemetery
- Immersive theatrical performances by costumed interpreters
- Access to the event grounds before and after the tour
- Live music and thematic décor
- The opportunity to purchase food, drinks, refreshments, and merchandise
Tours take place outdoors after dark and generally travel over grass, pathways, and areas of uneven historic terrain. Comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes are strongly recommended.
Guests are encouraged to bring flashlights. Flashlights will also be provided for use during the tour.
Mobility-Accessible Tour
For the first time, Soul Strolls will offer a specially designed Mobility-Accessible Tour option.
This tour will:
- Follow a shorter route
- Remain on paved paths
- Avoid the grassy and uneven portions of the standard route
- Provide a more wheelchair-friendly Soul Strolls experience
Because Congressional Cemetery is a historic outdoor landscape, guests may still encounter slopes, cracks, transitions between surfaces, and other conditions typical of an active historic cemetery. This tour is intended to reduce major mobility barriers but may not eliminate every potential obstacle.
Guests who need the mobility-accessible route must purchase the specifically designated ticket time. Standard tours will not be able to be converted into Mobility-Accessible Tours.
ASL-Interpreted Tours
Select Soul Strolls tours will include tours with a complimentary American Sign Language interpreter.
An ASL interpreter will accompany the group throughout the tour and interpret the guide’s remarks and character performances. Guests requiring interpretation should purchase one of the specifically designated ASL Tour tickets.
Purchasing a ticket for another time will not be accompanied by ASL Interpreters. PLEASE ONLY BUY AN ASL TOUR TIME IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU ARE ATTENDING WITH NEEDS ASL INTERPRETATION SERVICES.
Family-Friendly Tours
Select tours will be specially adapted for families and younger audiences.
These performances will retain the evening’s history and theatrical atmosphere while moderating some of the production’s more intense language and descriptions. Family-friendly tours should be considered approximately PG-rated.
Parents and guardians should still review the content advisory below when deciding whether the program is appropriate for their children. Soul Strolls is a historical theatrical experience, not a haunted attraction, but it discusses mature events from American history.
Content Advisory
Soul Strolls explores complicated and sometimes painful chapters of American history, which should be considered mature in nature. Performances may include references to or dramatic retellings of:
- Enslavement and the buying, selling, and claimed ownership of human beings
- Racism and racial violence
- Physical assaults and other violent events
- War and military conflict
- The displacement and persecution of Native peoples
- Death, burial, grief, and other subjects associated with a cemetery setting
Although performances do not include graphic reenactments of violence, certain accounts may be emotionally intense or upsetting for some attendees.
Family-friendly tours will moderate the content but will not entirely remove these mature themes.
Weather and Cancellation Policy
Soul Strolls is a rain-or-shine event.
The program takes place outdoors and will proceed in rain, cold temperatures, and other weather. Guests should monitor the forecast and dress appropriately for the conditions.
The event will only be canceled in the event of an emergency, dangerous or severe weather, or another condition that makes it unsafe to proceed. If Congressional Cemetery must cancel an evening of Soul Strolls because of an emergency or unsafe conditions, affected ticket holders will receive a refund.
There are no scheduled rain dates. Refunds will not be issued simply because of rain or uncomfortable weather.
Standard tours travel through areas of uneven ground and may include grass, dirt, inclines, tree roots, historic pathways, and low-light conditions. Comfortable and reliable footwear is required. Guests may bring flashlights, and flashlights will also be provided.
Many gravestones may be unstable and attendees must NOT touch or lean on any gravestones during their Soul Strolls experience.
Guests who require a shorter route remaining on paved surfaces should purchase the designated Mobility-Accessible Tour.
Food & Refreshments
We plan to have a food truck available each evening of Soul Strolls. Drinks and additional refreshments will also be available for purchase.
Food-truck participation and menu offerings may vary by evening and are subject to change. Guests should plan to arrive approximately 30 minutes before their estimated tour time if they would like to purchase food or enjoy the event grounds before joining the tour queue.
Supporting Congressional Cemetery
Soul Strolls may be a spirited evening in the cemetery, but it is also one of Congressional Cemetery’s most important annual fundraising programs.
Congressional Cemetery is operated by a nonprofit organization, the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery. Proceeds from Soul Strolls support our mission, programs, preservation work, and stewardship of this extraordinary historic landscape.
Questions about Soul Strolls? Please email staff@congressionalcemetery.org.
