Seventh annual ‘Spirit Voices from Old Manatee’ opens this weekend

Every year about this time, for the past six years, the ghosts of men and women who helped shape the nascent Manatee County have come back to life at Manatee Village Historical Park and at the 1850 Old Manatee Burying Grounds.

After this year, those ghosts may be allowed to rest.

This will be the seventh season of “Spirit Voices from Old Manatee,” the historical drama that features actors playing real-life men and women who played significant roles in the formation and evolution of Manatee County.

This year’s production opens on Friday and runs through Oct. 22.

Officials at Manatee Village Historical Park say they’ll discontinue the production after this year. It’s as popular as ever with audiences, but every year it gets harder to find volunteer actors to play the parts.

A lot of local actors have performed in the production over the years, and after they’ve done it two or three times, they often prefer to take other roles instead of continuing in an outdoor production in hot weather where they might be attacked by mosquitoes. The park plans to replace “Spirit Voices” with another project within the next two years.

But this year, historical figures will come to life in the 75-minute production, often near the site of their actual graves at the burying grounds.

One last time, they’ll relate stories based on accounts from archives, descendants, diaries, military logs, books and legend.

Details: 7 p.m. Oct. 6-22, Manatee Village Historical Park, 1404 Manatee Ave. E. $20. 941-749-7165, manateevillage.org.

This story was originally published October 4, 2017 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Seventh annual ‘Spirit Voices from Old Manatee’ opens this weekend."