Home-tour interest is still blooming

Home-tour interest is still blooming

By Debbie Arrington darrington@sacbee.com
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1550991182109662953

Published: Saturday, Apr. 11, 2009 - 12:00 am Page 5D
In real estate-mad California, beautiful weather and beautiful homes used to sell tickets to home and garden tours.
But facing a housing downturn and a dire economy, organizers of these annual tours – a staple of the Sacramento area's spring calendar – fretted about a lot more than wet paint or unfinished plantings.
"We started wondering, maybe this wasn't such a good idea to do a wine- country home tour this year," said Kelly Trottier, a volunteer helping to organize the Amador chapter of the American Association of University Women's annual home tour set for next Saturday. "With the economy, it's a concern. Half of our audience is from out of the area. But so far, (advanced) ticket sales have been surprisingly good."
These tours will go on, however, because they are major fundraisers for nonprofit organizations of all kinds, supplying money for such big-ticket expenses as college scholarships, gallery renovations and garden upkeep.
Millions of dollars have been invested by homeowners and designers to create these showpieces. Although times are tight, there was no shortage of remodelers willing to open their houses and gardens to visitors.
Here are some of the best-known regional tours:
A slice of history
East Sacramento Home Tour (Six homes on 38th Street)
• When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 26
• Presenter: McKinley East Sacramento Neighborhood Association
• Tickets: $15 advance, $20 day of tour
• Information: www.eastsac.org or (916) 736-3450
• Proceeds benefit: Community-improvement projects such as computers at an elementary school, benches at McKinley Park and other beautification projects.
About the tour: Showcasing six homes on 38th Street, the McKinley tour draws about 500 people – many of them from the neighborhood – who want to see the blend of architectural styles in homes built between 1910 and 1929.
"Ours is (not only) a remodeling tour but also a historical tour," noted Claudia Bordin, who chairs the McKinley East Sacramento Neighborhood Association tour.
"I've seen this one house go through such a metamorphosis. These homes have retained their character but have been updated for family life in the 21st century. What we want people to see is that you can have a grand old house but make it a modern home."
Bordin, a designer, worked on several homes on the tour while coordinating the event's 60 volunteers. Besides stellar gardens, the homes also feature such indoor renovations as remodeled kitchens and baths.
Roses and advice
Woodland Library Rose Club Garden and Home Tour
• When: Noon-5 p.m. April 26
• Presenter: Woodland Library Rose Club
• Tickets: $20 general, $10 youths
• Information: (530) 662-4020
• Proceeds benefit: The library's public gardens
• About the tour: The Woodland Library Rose Club is presenting its 20th anniversary garden tour with a trek through two public and seven private gardens.
Highlights include more than 500 roses in bloom at the Woodland Library garden and a vintage fashion show at Gable Mansion.
"The homeowners are wonderful and very willing to talk with you about what's worked and not worked in their gardens," noted Maryellen Mackenzie, president of the club.
Wine and scenery
AAUW Amador Home Tour
• When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. next Saturday
• Presenter: Amador chapter of the American Association of University Women Home Tour
• Tickets: $22 advance, $25 day of tour
• Information: www.aauwamador.org or (209) 245-6052
• Proceeds benefit: Last year, the group gave eight community college scholarships and two upper-division and graduate school scholarships. The group also sent three girls to science camp at Mills College.
• About the tour: The Amador University Women flaunt their region's assets in a tour that includes 30 wineries and four unique homes in the Shenandoah Valley.
Now in its 37th year, the Amador tour ranks among the longest-running events of its kind in the foothills. It usually attracts 700 to 900 people every year, depending on the weather.