The Association of Northwest Landscape Designers presents their 8th annual Behind-the-scenes Garden Tour, so you can get an inside look at professionally designed gardens in the Portland Metro and Lake Oswego areas. Meet with each landscape designer to see how they come up with their ideas for breathtaking outdoor spaces.
The quaint Oregon town of Aurora was one of the West Coast’s only Christian communal colonies. Founded in 1856 by German families, today Aurora includes many antiques shops and specialty boutiques as well as simple clapboard houses built in the late 19th century. During the OLD AURORA COLONY MUSEUM CANDLELIGHT TOUR, you’ll travel back in time to the Aurora Colony of 150 years ago. Tour participants view the Old Aurora Colony Museum and watch vignettes of Colony families re-enacting history. Light refreshments will be served. The museum and town will be decorated for the holidays. To get a start in your holiday shopping, before taking the tour, check out the town’s unique stores.
Take several beautifully-decorated homes in the Eastmoreland neighborhood in Southeast Portland. Throw in some fun gift shopping while raising money for a good cause. What do you have? The 30th ANNUAL DUNIWAY HOLIDAY HOME TOUR. The tour includes a ride on an historic trolley as it rolls down the tree-lined streets of Eastmoreland, stopping at each home on the holiday tour and the tour’s boutique. The event raises funds that will benefit Duniway Elementary School, as does the boutique, with items by local artists and merchants. During the LA GRANDE ROTARY HOLIDAY HOME TOUR, eight houses or businesses in the La Grande area will be dressed up for the holidays. A variety of architectural styles will be represented on the self-guided car tour.
Do strands and strands of Christmas lights give you a warm and fuzzy feeling? Head for PEACOCK LANE, a street in Southeast Portland renowned for the homeowners who live on it, who spend hours and hours gussying up their houses each holiday season for drivers-by and passersby alike to enjoy. The houses, mostly English Tudors, are adorned with sparkling lights and the front yards are filled with nativity scenes, rotating Christmas trees and replicas of Santa and Frosty. A popular event (expect happy crowds), the decorations are best enjoyed on foot.
During the Oregon Remodelers Association’s 2008 REMODELERS HOME TOUR, you can visit 19 remodeled homes, meet the remodelers and discuss your own remodeling project. Homes on the tour include kitchen and bath remodels, complete remodels and additions.
The 7th ANNUAL COLUMBIA GORGE ENVIRO-HOUSE TOUR, a self-guided tour in the mid-Columbia Gorge region of Oregon and Washington, will showcase seven spectacular homes featuring passive and active solar, water harvesting and efficiency techniques, the latest in green products and methods, and the best in natural building with strawbale and earthen structures. On the Friday before the tour, you can hear a keynote speaker and representatives from local sustainable organizations and businesses. On the Saturday after the tour, you can enjoy a harvest and brew celebration. The Columbia Gorge Earth Center, a nonprofit based in Hood River, sponsors the tour.
During PORTLAND OPEN STUDIOS, you can get up close and personal with dozens of artists, including painters, sculptors and glass blowers, who open their work spaces during this annual, self-guided tour. Who knows? By making a connection with a particular artist, you may find yourself starting your own art collection—or new pastime.
Ever wonder how artists do what they do? Well, during the 16th annual ART HARVEST STUDIO TOUR, you can uncover their secrets when you visit artists’ studios, watch demonstrations and talk with the artists themselves. Artwork (think oils and acrylics, photography, jewelry, pottery and watercolors) will be for sale.
Six luxury Portland homes will be unveiled during the 33RD ANNUAL NW NATURAL STREET OF DREAMS. The event draws more than 100,000 attendees each year. Whether you’re interested in renovating your current home or planning to build a new one, this home tour offers an opportunity to meet with the region’s top builders, designers and landscapers. The Homebuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland sponsors the event.
During the leisurely self-guided MCKENZIE RIVER HOME & GARDEN TOUR you have a chance to visit seven homes and gardens. Raffle tickets for raft trips, restaurant meals, lodging, spa tickets and artwork will be on sale at each tour location. The tour raises money for the McKenzie River Clinic.
