We’re almost through the holiday season! In fact, since this is the last day of 2008, I shall end it in style: with a blog entry. Clearly, I am getting a head start on my new year’s resolution of blogging more frequently. Less clear is what I should blog about in this installment. I have had so many wonderful Christmas treats this year, many of which have been in Mount Vernon, that it’s hard to pick just one. But one highlight keeps jumping out at me: the Holly Tour. www.hollytour.com
I’ve been one of the Mount Vermin for eight years, and have managed to attend the Holly Tour on several occasions. It is an amazing opportunity to snoop into other peoples’ houses. Seriously though, it’s an amazing opportunity to see, in detail, the architectural beauty of Mount Vernon, and its beautiful décor, Christmas and otherwise. The Holly Tour is organized by the Friends of Mount Vernon Place, “a membership organization, which is dedicated to the conservation and revitalization of the Mount Vernon Place parks to make them more civil public spaces. [Their] purpose is to enable residents and visitors to enjoy the wealth of natural beauty, historical significance and cultural resources of Mount Vernon Place.” www.friendsofmountvernonplace.org All proceeds from the Tour goes to this organization. Tickets can be ordered online, for the bargain price of $25.
This year, the Tour registration was at the Monumental Life Building. You were issued a Holly Tour Guidebook, which served not only as a wealth of information about the 12 fabulous buildings on the route, but also as your ticket to gain entry into them. Despite gusty, chilly weather, intrepid tourers viewed the properties, taking as much time as they wanted in each property. The 2008 Holly Tour focused on Biddle Street, with three properties within a two block radius, and a fourth just off of Biddle on Hunter St. The entire route spanned much of the neighborhood, with the farthest afield being Tyson St. The properties included personal residences, as well as Government House (www.ci.baltimore.md.us/visitor/inn@gh/), The Belvedere (www.belvederebaltimore.com ), decorative arts design firm McLain Wiesand (www.mclainwiesand.com), and Agora Publishing (www.agora-inc.com/Mtvrn.htm ), among others.
The only complaint I heard was that the distance of the route was a bit much for some of the guests with impaired mobility. However, since the tour is self-guided, it is easy to go to as many or as few of the properties as one chooses. And with all of the restaurants and coffee shops in Mount Vernon, there were plenty of places from which to choose to sit for a break or have a hot drink along the way. The only suggestion I heard for the 2009 Holly Tour organizers was that they consider having a spring tour, too! I second this idea, not because they weather was too cold, but because then I’d get to snoop…I mean see… into peoples’ gardens, as well as their homes! Many thanks to the organizers and volunteers of the 2008 Holly Tour. A job well done!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment