Thanks to its very active garden club, historic North Hills is home to some of the most memorable seasonal events of any neighborhood in Knoxville. Next up is the Holiday Home Tour on from 3-8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8.
This home tour offers a rare glimpse inside the history and architecture of the North Hills neighborhood, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and home to an official Dogwood Trail in the spring. There are 130 houses within the historic district of this early automobile-oriented Knoxville subdivision. Built between 1928 and 1950, the houses on the tour represent architectural styles ranging from Craftsman to English Cottage to Tudor to Tuscan Revival.
In addition to the eight beautifully decorated homes, historic Fire Hall No. 11, which sits at the intersection of Whittles Springs and Buffat Mill roads, will also be welcoming guests. Sweet and savory home-baked refreshments will be served at each home (a committee of neighbors will supply the goodies so the hosts can concentrate on greeting guests).
Khristin Mahoney, who chairs this year’s tour, was a host two years ago.
“I was surprised at how energizing it was to open up your home, plus it gave us a head start on holiday decorating,” she said. “And being chair this year has been easy because I felt I could encourage people. I’m helping coordinate the eight homes on the tour. “
Mahoney said she’s very impressed with the effort the firefighters put into the event.
“The firefighters are very generous with their time when people come in – they talk about the trucks and the equipment. We provide the food for the fire station as well as the eight homes.”
The garden club will have three people assigned to each home as greeters and co-hosts, and 24 neighbors pitching in on the cooking. This festive event has been a neighborhood tradition for over 20 years.
Tickets are $15 at the door or $12 when purchased in advance from a North Hills Garden Club member or through this PayPal link. Bundles of 10 tickets for $100 are also available (visit our website for a link). Tickets should be picked up on the day of the tour between 2:45 and 7:15 p.m. at the ticket tent at 2441 North Park Blvd. Children under 12 years of age will be admitted free of charge.
Proceeds from the tour support beautification of the neighborhood’s boulevards and park. For more information on the North Hills Garden Club, including details on the home tour, visit the club’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NorthHillsGardenClub or website at https://northhillsgardenclub.wixsite.com/nhgc.
