Marietta Invites You to Come Behind Closed Doors ~ December 7 & 8, 2013

 HayesBairdHouseGo behind closed doors as Marietta puts on its holiday finery for the 27th Annual Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour.  What does it take to produce the tour?  More than 3,000 ornaments, thousands of magnolia leaves, 500-plus strands of lights and over 100 poinsettias are used in decorating the houses. A half a dozen or more hotel rooms are booked for homeowners for the event weekend to clear the way for the 5,000 or so visitors who will ooh and ah over vintage, traditional and highly artistic holiday schemes. Dozens of plastic mats are stashed in closets in case of inclement weather and scads of booties are stowed in attics to cover shoes for treading on floors that need extra TLC.  Not to mention over 500 volunteers to staff the event.

The Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour features six private historic homes in the Northwest Marietta/Kennesaw Avenue Historic District, lovingly restored, filled with antique collections and decorated for the season.  Homeowners invite you inside for a unique opportunity to discover how they incorporate these historic treasures into their everyday lives.  Along the route, many of Marietta’s historic public buildings are decorated and open for touring.

The activities begin on Friday evening, December 6 when the Marietta Pilgrimage presents “The Marietta Pilgrimage Gala.” a glamorous black-tie party at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art.  The home tours kick-off on Saturday, December 7 with the Day Tour offered from 9:00am – 6:00pm and a Candlelight Tour featuring three of the tour homes from 7:00pm – 9:30pm Saturday evening.  The Day Tour will resume on Sunday, December 8 from 10:00am – 6:00pm.  The day tours offer shuttle service staffed with informative step-on guides.  Along the tour, guests can warm up and enjoy refreshments or a light lunch at The Bistro.  The Marietta Educational Garden Center will feature The Bistro this year.

Special trolley rides will take place on Saturday & Sunday.    There’s so much to see, you couldn’t possibly do it all in one day, so plan on spending the weekend.  The Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel & Conference Center, 500 Powder Springs Street, is serving as the host hotel for the Tour.  Contact them at 888-685-2500 or at www.atlantamarietta.hilton.com.
The Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour has been consistently named a “Top Twenty Event in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society and a “Top 100 Event in North America” by the American Bus Association.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour, call the Marietta Visitors Bureau at 770-429-1115, or 800-835-0445 or visit www.mariettapilgrimage.com.  Pictured above The Hayes-Baird House, c. 1923 – on the tour this year.