Tinsel, twinkle, tour!
Holiday home tours give visitors a show while helping good causes
Published: November 27, 2009, 12:30 am
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Some people decorate their homes for themselves. Some for their family and friends. And some, especially at holiday time, decorate for the whole community – and all for good causes. Fundraising home tours are a holiday tradition throughout Western New York. And while some homes are quite grand, others prove that even small houses can be decorated to delight the eye during the holidays – or any time of the year.
New on the Hamburg tour of homes this year is Steven Cavallo’s duplex, which he has decorated with a select but personal array of holiday decor.
His strategy? “Less is more – and do it to scale,” said Cavallo, who retired after working as a special-education teacher in the Orchard Park schools but continues to substitute-teach.
His Christmas tree, displayed at the bottom of the stairs, is 6 feet tall yet only about 14 inches wide, for example.
Variety is the key to this year’s lineup of holiday home tours. And what a fun way to spend an afternoon or two, no matter where you live.
Check these out:
Lewiston
Christmas in the Village Tour of Homes
“Grand Ladies of the River” is the theme of the fifth annual Christmas in the Village tour. Five featured homes along the Lower Niagara River and a century-old carriage house will be decorated by professional designers and homeowners.
• New this year: Ticketholders can enjoy a dessert sampling reception at the Barton Hill Hotel and Spa, with sweets from DiCamillo Bakery and the Village Bake Shoppe.
• Time and date: 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. Dec. 5 and 6.
• Tickets: $25, available at www.LewistonHomeTour.com or by calling 754-4214 or (866) 754-4214.
Tickets also are available — beforehand and day of tour — at the Orange Cat Coffee Company, 703 Center St.; the Village Bake Shoppe, 417 Center St., and the Barton Hill Hotel and Spa, 100 Center St.—all in Lewiston.
They also are available at NFP Offices, 1859 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island, and Di-Camillo Bakery locations at 535 Center St., Lewiston; 7927 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, and 5329 Main St., Williamsville, and at Russell’s Tree & Shrub Farm, 9800 Transit Road, East Amherst.
This is a self-guided tour. Trolley service is available.
Proceeds from the tour, a major fundraiser of the Historical Association of Lewiston, are used to preserve and promote Lewiston’s heritage.
Hamburg
Christmas Tour of Homes
Now in its sixth year, visitors to this popular Southtowns tour can visit seven homes. The tour is hosted by the Hamburg United Methodist Church.
Planners note that houses range from a village home built in 1832 to a two-story Colonial built in 1997 and a Craftsmanstyle village home built in 2008, replacing the former home destroyed by fire.
The restored Boies-Lord House Museum, a pre-Civil War Greek Revival-style home operated by the Hamburg Historical Society, also is on this year’s tour.
Complimentary refreshments and theme basket drawings will be featured throughout the tour and extended until 5 p. m. at the Methodist Meeting House, 107 Main St., Hamburg, behind the church. Tickets also can be bought here on tour day.
• Time and date: 12:30 to 4:30 p. m. Dec. 6.
• Tickets: $20; they can be purchased ahead of time at Hamburg United Methodist Church, 116 Union St., Hamburg, or at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. Or call the church at 649-8080.
All proceeds will benefit the church and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) through Help America Foundation’s ALS Hope 4 Mike.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Rotary Holiday House Tour
The 11th annual tour features 13 properties — six homes plus museums, art galleries and wineries — decorated by local businesses and garden clubs.
• Time and date: 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Dec. 4 and 5.
• Tickets: $25 (Canadian and U. S.)
The tour begins at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club on Front Street, where tickets will be available. Or call the Rotary Club ahead at (905) 351-3807. Web site: www.rotary-niagara.com. Proceeds benefit projects throughout the world.
In addition, the Niagara Parks Commission’s McFarland House, 15927 Niagara Parkway, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., will host an open house from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Dec. 4-6.
The house will be decorated in 19th century Christmas style by the Garden Club of Niagara and is included in the two-day Rotary Club house tour. On Dec. 6, McFarland House will host its own Christmas event. Admission that day is $4.75 per person. Call (905) 468-3322 for more information.
Grand Island
Holiday House Tour
Five private decorated homes, plus the original St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, will be open to visitors for the tour and craft show sponsored by the Historic Trinity Committee, of Trinity United Methodist Church on Grand Island.
• Time and date: The house tour runs noon to 4 p. m. Dec. 12. The craft show will be open from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. in the chapel of Historic Trinity, 2100 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island.
• Tickets: $15 after Dec. 9 and at Historic Trinity the day of tour (pick up maps here). Presale price is $12 from Pam’s Gift Shop, at the Grand Island Plaza, or by calling 773-2421 or 773-7276.
All proceeds will be used for the ongoing renovation and repairs to Historic Trinity.
East Aurora
Holiday Tour of Homes
This year’s tour of eight homes includes a local landmark — the restored Griggs Mansion, which boasts hand-carved woodwork as well as original wallpaper in the foyer and living room.
The Queen Anne Revival was built in the 1890s by Abbott S. Griggs, former owner of Griggs & Ball and a past president of the East Aurora Village.
The mansion was on the tour in 2005, before its restoration, and has been featured on HGTV’s “If Walls Could Talk.”
• Time and date: 10:30 a. m. to 4:30 p. m., Dec. 13.
• Tickets: $25; reserve beforehand or buy on tour day at the Roycroft Inn, 40 S. Grove St., East Aurora— where the tour begins. Call the Roycroft at 652-5552 for reservations or more information.
All proceeds benefit Explore & More children’s museum; the Elbert Hubbard-Roycroft Museum; the Millard Fillmore House and the Toy Town Museum.
smartin@buffnews.com
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