ESMP Open Day

    I finally have time to write for the blog again, so I'll start with the 2013 Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park (ESMP) open day.  As expected it was a great day and included a variety of things from free food to an Aboriginal dance, needless to say I had a blast.

    Every year ESMP holds an open day, as far as I know it's the only time a funeral home is accessible to the general public. So the ESMP open day is rare and insightful opportunity.  I won't upload many photos of the 2013 open day as I've already discussed the 2012 open day in detail here.

    My favourite part of the day were the little Frankenstein monsters.  They were soft like stress balls, and very unique and fun.

Frankensteins' monster.

    I've seen a lot of different funeral home marketing things, including seatbelt cutters and even a cheese grater but these monsters are one of the best so far, especially as Halloween had just pass by.

    The large reception room had several stalls, some had ESMP crematorium and funeral home information as expected.

    There was a stall from the 'Cape Banks Family History Society INC'. This is a volunteer society who focus on preserving the history of Pioneer Memorial Park which is a small section within the ESMP grounds. They are a nice and enthusiastic group who were more then willing to discuss the history of Pioneer Memorial Park as well as the rather interesting methods used to gather information.

    Another stall I stopped by was one which offered information regarding bereavement and counselling services. This stall had information from a local counselling centre, as well as a very educational section on grieving. I thought this was a very good addition to the ESMP open day, something a bit different and another perspective on mourning and grieving.

    This year I decided to go on the bus tour rather than the funeral home and crematorium tours. I wasn't disappointed as the bus tour was informative and fun, first showing off the old sections which included a stop at Pioneer Memorial Park (and free icecream).

    Then we went to the new areas which were still under construction in some spots. It was good to see this combination of new and old at once.

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