Hosting Events Within Clinton Cemetery, Including the OVMP
In recent months, uncertainty has increased around the use of Clinton Cemetery grounds, especially Ohio Veterans Memorial Park (OVMP), for events and gatherings outside of normal burial, graveside services and visitation activities. Clinton Cemetery does allow certain events, but only when they are appropriate to a cemetery setting, consistent with our mission, and planned in a way that protects families, visitors, and the grounds themselves. In order to ameliorate ambiguity, collapse false boundaries, and provide a clear process, Clinton Cemetery Association has prepared comprehensive Cemetery Event Rules and posted them on our website. This blog introduces the approach behind these event rules, explains why the rules exist, and clarifies how they apply across Clinton Cemetery and its OVMP memorial grounds.
A cemetery is not a venue but is a place of shared meaning
First and foremost, Clinton Cemetery is an active burial ground with fiduciary obligations to the dead and their families and to the public purpose of a cemetery. Those obligations require the Cemetery Association to retain control over how cemetery land and facilities are used because decisions about access, activities, and events directly affect the dignity, safety, and integrity of a dedicated burial ground. Families come here to grieve, to remember, and to spend quiet time with loved ones. That purpose always takes priority.
At the same time, cemeteries have long served as places of shared remembrance, education, and reflection, so well-conceived events and gatherings represent opportunities to deepen understanding and strengthen community when they are conducted with care. But, because a cemetery is neither a public park nor a private event venue, events must be evaluated differently. The Event Rules exist to strike a balance in allowing meaningful gatherings while protecting the solemn character of the grounds.
All events require Cemetery Association approval
Under Ohio law, cemetery associations are responsible for the order, protection, and preservation of cemetery property. That responsibility includes deciding how, when, and whether events may occur. Alignment with the Cemetery’s mission or goodwill toward its purpose does not, by itself, create any fiduciary standing or right of use for donors, event organizers, affiliated nonprofits, or community groups. For this reason:
No event on Cemetery property is “open access” or automatic
Permission to use Cemetery property for an event must always come through the Cemetery Association’s formal approval process
Each request is reviewed individually, based on its purpose, scale, impact, and practicability
This process is not meant to discourage good ideas. It exists to ensure that events do not interfere with burials, graveside services, visitations, maintenance operations, or the dignity of the cemetery as a whole.
The OVMP is a nonseparable feature of Clinton Cemetery
Because of its enhanced appeal as a setting for events, it is important to understand that OVMP exists in continuity with and within Clinton Cemetery and is fully subject to cemetery law and the Cemetery Event Rules. Events proposed for the outdoor memorial grounds, Heroes Hall, or any OVMP-related space must follow the cemetery’s event approval process.
This structure ensures that events held in and around the Memorial Grounds remain consistent with cemetery law and cemetery-wide standards, do not conflict with burials, graveside services or visitations, and are planned with clearly-designated responsibility for setup, staffing, safety, and restoration of the grounds.
If you’re organizing it, announcing it, or hosting it, then it’s an event
A cemetery must treat something as an event requiring approval when the activity shifts from ordinary cemetery use to a planned, alternate use of cemetery space or facilities. The following criteria can be used to help you decide whether your concept is an event.
Cemetery space is being used, not merely visited. Thirty people independently arriving to visit a grave would not be an event, but three people meeting inside Heroes Hall for an hour would be, because it requires authorized personnel to manage a space.
The activity is organized or coordinated in advance. The moment someone sets a time, invites guests, announces a meeting point, or describes a “program”, happenstance turns into foreseeable activity and the activity becomes an event.
The activity changes how others experience the cemetery. If the activity will draw attention, produce sound, create movement patterns, or formally or informally mark off space, then approval is required because it alters the shared environment of an active, dedicated burial ground.
The activity implies permission, sponsorship, or endorsement. If an activity could reasonably cause a third party to think, “The cemetery allowed this,” “This must be sanctioned,” or “This is something we could do, too,” then it must be treated as an event.
Appropriate events are those that deepen shared meaning
Clinton Cemetery’s event rules focus on fit, not popularity or size. Events that are more likely to be approvable include:
Memorial and remembrance ceremonies
Veteran-honoring events
Educational programs related to history, service, or remembrance
Veteran-serving organization meetings
Small private gatherings consistent with memorialization
Wreath layings, moments of reflection, or similar observances
Events that are unlikely to be approved are those that treat the cemetery as an entertainment venue or social space, such as festivals, races, most concerts, or celebrations unrelated to memorial purposes.
Event approval entails a systematic process
The Event Rules provide multiple pathways for event proposals, differentiating between indoor events on the memorial grounds, outdoor events on the memorial grounds, and outdoor events anywhere else on cemetery grounds. Indoor uses tend to involve smaller, quieter gatherings, while outdoor events require more extensive planning around access, parking, sound, safety, and cleanup.
In any case, individuals or organizations may begin by submitting a brief preliminary description through the Cemetery’s online form on the landing page of our website. If the idea appears consistent with the Rules, the Association may invite a full proposal. Once reviewed and found appropriate, written notice of approval will be issued by the Cemetery Association, and the event will be added to the Cemetery master schedule.
However, for proposals involving events to be held on the Memorial Grounds, where the OVMP organization serves as steward, there is an additional criterion: The OVMP organization must not only be willing to support the event with any necessary logistics, cleaning, staffing, setup, teardown, and opening and closing but must also assume the role of preparing and submitting the application. In practice, the Cemetery Association would not approve a memorial-ground event where OVMP merely says, “We don’t object.” On the Memorial Grounds the Steward Organization must become the applicant to ensure that responsibility is clearly anchored.
Event approval depends on a complete and considered proposal
For an event to be approvable, the organizer must submit a proposal that provides meaningful details demonstrating the forethought and ability to successfully take on responsibility for a variety of considerations, including
logistics and staffing,
attendee management and conduct,
insurance procurement,
monument, structure, and landscape protection, and
grounds restoration after the event.
These and other expectations are spelled out in the Event Rules so that everyone involved understands their role, ensuring that execution does not fall unexpectedly on cemetery staff.
Event proposals must also disclose any planned financial activity connected to the event, including admissions, donations, sales, sponsorships, or payments to or from third parties that are central to the event’s purpose or presentation. This information allows the Cemetery to understand the full scope of the event and evaluate it appropriately.
Each proposal is considered on its own merits, with attention to timing, location, attendance, logistics, responsibility, and tone. No two events are exactly alike, and past approvals do not guarantee future approval. Conditions change, schedules vary, and the needs of families always come first. For that reason, Clinton Cemetery Association evaluates event requests on a case-by-case basis, in its sole and absolute discretion.
So what is the next step?
Clinton Cemetery is a place of remembrance, not of restriction but also not of open access. Our event rules exist to ensure that when events do occur, they do so in a way that honors those buried here, respects visiting families, and preserves the dignity of the grounds. Thoughtful planning and clear communication help establish a sound foundation for a meaningful gathering. If you are considering an event or gathering that you believe may be appropriate for Clinton Cemetery grounds, we encourage you to start by reviewing the Event Rules and then initiating the preliminary process through our website.