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17th Victorian Holiday Tour, Dec. 3rd and 4th
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You might think it's too early to be thinking about Christmas, but there are volunteers who have been working on this year's holiday home tour for over six months now. For seventeen consecutive years, people have donated their time, talent, and skills (not to mention their homes) to make the first weekend in December an event you'll remember. This year is no different. The homes on this year's tour range from the small cottage size to a nearly 4,000 sq. ft. home that only a few years ago was a condemned structure with a hole in roof big enough to drop a small car through. All the homes on the tour have a story to tell, and if you if pay the price of admission, take the free trolley service around the neighborhood, and stop at each house to listen, you might just hear some of those stories. That's one thing you'll find in historic neighborhoods like Old North Knoxville that you won't find anywhere else: stories. And however many stories you hear might have nothing to do with how large the house is, or how many physical storys it has. Some of the smaller houses may have some of the better stories, and a new chapter of one those stories might just be unfolding as you walk through the door ... but only if you take the time to stop, look, and listen. Tickets for the home tour go on sale in mid-November at area Kroger stores. Prices are $8 in advance. If you wait for the days of the tour, prices $10 each and can be purchased at the booth in the St. Mary's parking lot on Woodland Ave. You can park there and take the trolley to the homes, and then ride back to your car. Bliss has donated a $100 gift certificate door prize that you can register for after you complete the tour. For more information, call 865-523-HONK (4665) or visit www.oldnorthknoxville.org. The Saturday, December 3rd tour starts at 4 p.m. and goes until 9 p.m. It is called the candlelight tour. The Sunday, December 5th tour starts at 1 p.m. and goes until 5 p.m. Please allow at least 2 hours to visit all the houses. 7th Annual Decorating Contest So you're not on the tour? Well, there is still something you can do to help bring the festive nature out into the neighborhood: decorate you home. And if you get you decorations out in time, you might just be one of the decorating contest winners. This year there will be three categories: The date of the contest judging is Friday, December 2, 2005, between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. There will be three guest judges, all of whom will be from outside the Old North neighborhood. There three categories are: There will be two prizes of $25 Kroger Gift Certificates given in each of the three categories (for a total of six prizes). Winners will be notified after the tour weekend. So, get out you best lights, bows, wreathes, and other holiday doodads out and start decorating. Winners will be reported in the January/February issue of Old North News. |
