“Wandering Spirits” will visit four local cemeteries during the annual Living History Cemetery Tour.

Guided walks offer an opportunity to step through time and learn about historical figures of Southwest Louisiana from 5-8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for ages 8-17 and free for children 7 and younger. Tickets can be purchased online at artscouncilswla.org.

Guests can drive from cemetery to cemetery at their own pace.

The cemetery tour is a “fun, unique way” to connect with the past, said Cameron Fultz, executive director of the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana.

“Nothing beats hands-on learning, and this tour provides locals and visitors alike with tangible experience where historical figures leap off the page and into our world,” Fultz said

Guests will be led through Bilbo Cemetery on Lakeshore Drive, Sallier Cemetery on Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive, Combre Memorial Park on Opelousas Street and Orange Grove Cemetery on Broad Street.

Some of the historical figures guests will hear about include Rosa Hart, the nation’s first female cheerleader; Toni Jo Henry, the first woman executed by electric chair in Louisiana; John McNeese, the first superintendent of Imperial Calcasieu; Nellie Lutcher, nationally renowned singer and pianist; Ralph C. Reynaud, and the first principal of W.O. Boston High School.

Despite specters, this tour is not spooky, Fultz said. Instead, the tour is a “reverent, educational and historically accurate” — to the best of their ability, he said — rendition of Southwest Louisiana’s local legends.

Seventeen actors will dress in historical attire and portray the historic figures.

The cemetery tour is an important yearly reminder of how far the Lake Area has come, he said.

“At the end of the day, our past shapes our present, and our present shapes our future,” Fultz said. “Providing our community with stories and perspectives from our history is essential to learning about our cultural identity and what got us where we are today.”

The tour also serves as an opportunity to reflect on life as guests learn from others’ past experiences, he said. “This experience can often be sobering and contemplative for those who attend, but also serves as a celebration of those who came before.”