It’s a pleasure to see a beautifully decorated home during the holidays. It’s even nicer to see several such homes. And if your enjoyment is also supporting a good cause? That’s the cherry on top of the ice cream – or, in this case, the star on top of the Christmas tree.
You can see lots of Christmas trees – and several beautiful homes – in the annual Christmas Tour of Homes that’s sponsored by the Heritage Square Historical Society.
Set for 1 to 6 p.m. on December 3, the tour includes five private homes and two of the historical society’s three properties at Heritage Square on Dick Street.
“It’s a beautiful line-up of homes,” said Elaine Kennebeck, the historical society’s president.
They include the homes of Janene and Ryan Aul on South Churchill Drive, Edie and Tony Bigler on Ellerslie Drive, Avery and Scott Cameron on Lakeview Drive, Heide and Joe Quigg on Echo Lane and Jackie and Tim Smith on Glenburney Drive.
Also being decked out are the historical society properties the Sandford House and the Oval Ballroom. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places.
As usual, each room of the Sandford House will be decorated by a different garden club in the area. The past three years, the clubs have been charged with doing period-appropriate decorations for the home, which was built around 1800. This year, organizer Gwen Bell said, the historical society is asking the garden clubs to do each room with a nativity theme.
Tickets cost $20 and will be available ahead of time from the historical society and at other locations, including Bell’s Seed Store, Pure Barre, The Pilgrim Gift Shop and Lisa’s Picture Framing. They will also be available on the day of the tour at each stop. The tour will be self-guided and participants can visit any or all of the homes in any order they wish during the five-hour time frame.
Proceeds will go towards refurbishment of the historical society’s third property at Heritage Square – the Baker-Haigh-Nimocks House, which is also on the National
“We’re trying to raise $75,000 to finish the house,” Kennebeck said. The home, built about 1818, has been fully redone outside, including paint, roof and chimney. The next phase of restoration will tackle the interior.
For information about the historical society and its work, check heritagesquarefay.org.
