By James Feichtner
Delving deeper into the Holiday season, Partnerships for Lawrence will be featuring their annual Holiday Tour at Fort Harrison State Park on Dec. 5. These perpetuators of the arts have been hosting the tour for four years now, but this year marks their first hosting of the tour since moving into the historic Fort Benjamin Harrison Theater.
“We champion the arts in the Lawrence community and in October of this year we moved to Fort Benjamin Harrison to the Fort Theatre,” Partnerships for Lawrence Executive Director Judy Byron said. “We have just recently opened the Fort Theater and the proceeds from this fundraiser are going to support that.”
The tour will last from 4 to 7 p.m. and will allow guests to tour the historic Fort Benjamin Harrison homes once occupied by high ranking military personnel during its time as an active military fort. A shuttle will offer transportation around the homes and each home will offer a little something special for the guests such as music or refreshments.
“All of the stops will have live music,” Byron said. “We’ll have at least two piano players, a harp player. We also have a few local artists. Rettig Hill Winery will set up a tasting at homes. All of the homes will have cookies or coffee or some little treat to give gifts to guests.”
The homes, which are currently inhabited by residents, date back to the beginning of the 20th century. While they have been updated with standard appliances, the architecture still shows the traditional styles of older homes.
“All of the stops have been really nicely renovated, Byron said. “They all have been changed dramatically but they’ve kept those charming characters from the turn of the century when they were first built, so big pocket doors and tall ceilings and tons of fireplaces.”
Tickets are $12 online and $15 at the event. For more info, visit lawrenceartcenter.net
