Arts Council of Plant City’s Annual At Home for the Holidays Tour of Homes
Plant City is home to many holiday traditions like Lights of Love, the Christmas Parade, and the Arts Council of Plant City’s annual At Home for the Holidays Tour of Homes. This year marked the 38th anniversary of this festive event. “It can be said that for the Arts Council of Plant City, history repeats itself every year when we host the annual Tour of Homes ‘At Home for the Holidays’,” said Arts Council of Plant City’s board member, Marsha Passmore. “This year will be the Arts Council’s 38th year of hosting this event, and it is attended by 200 to 300 guests. The tour of homes is held on the second Sunday afternoon each December.”
This year’s tour featured three homes owned by Plant City residents Billy and Audrey Bartlett, Chuck and Kathy Christensen, and Elliot and Karen Davis. New to this year’s tour was local business, Red Calliope Gallery on Evers, owned by Mark and Rachel Dummeldinger. “Each year we offer three to four beautifully decorated homes, and occasionally a business in the Plant City community that brings the Christmas Spirit and traditions for invited guests to see,” Passmore said. “For many who attend, this has become a treasured memory and sought out event to kick start their Holiday Season.”
The reputation of the tour is so recognized in Plant City that homeowners sometimes ask to be on the tour. “We also have scouts from within the Arts Council that are continually throughout the year looking for the next grouping of homes,” Passmore said. “We are fortunate to put homeowners on a waiting list for future tours, that may not be ready for the current tour but would like to do it in the future.”
The tour is by invitation only, and this is to ensure that the Arts Council knows their guests are reputable, and only there for the purpose of enhancing their Christmas holidays. “If someone is interested in attending, they can contact the organization, and we can guide them through how to get on the invitation list,” Passmore said. “Of course, if it is someone we know or know of, we are happy to add their names to our guest list.”
Each homeowner is asked to tastefully decorate their homes in the style that represents the family and their likes, such as themed Christmas Trees, something in the home that may be singled out that has special meaning, or a host of memories that have made the family comfortable sharing them with their guests. “Homeowners who have been on the tours in the past say it was one of the premier events that they have ever participated in,” Passmore said. “The Tour of Homes has earned the trust of the community that their time will be well spent, and the homes or business will be decorated to reflect the families’ most treasured features of the home as well as keepsakes that in many instances have been passed down from one generation to the next.”
Money raised from this event is used to give scholarships to four local graduating high school seniors who are continuing their education in the arts, whether it be visual, performing, or the culinary arts. “Every dollar is put back into the Plant City community for the various art projects hosted by our organization,” Passmore said.
