Members of the Tellico Village branch of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs are getting ready to host the organization’s 25th annual Home Tour fundraiser Nov. 6.
The event, which is the club’s biggest fundraiser, opens area homes to visitors 1-4:30 p.m. to raise money for a wide range of local nonprofits.
“It’s a fun thing to do on a Sunday in early November,” Suzanne Milligan, tour co-chairman, said. “People get together and they go from home to home, and then we have all these sponsors in the Yacht Club where people go to have dessert. … So it’s a full afternoon of seeing different homes, meeting our sponsors and just getting together and having a good time.”
Four homes were selected for this year’s home tour. Two are in Tellico Village, and the other two are in Rarity Bay for the first time. Villagers who go to Rarity Bay will be able to enter with their Home Tour ticket and receive a map with directions to get to the two homes while minimizing traffic congestion.
“We’re hoping that a few more people would be interested in seeing the homes in Rarity Bay because a lot of times if you live in Tellico Village, unless you’re playing golf, you don’t get over there very often,” Milligan said. “And the two homes in Tellico Village and in Rarity Bay are very different from each other, so I think people will find them interesting.”
Homes are secured in a variety of ways, whether put forward by the homeowner, suggested by a friend or neighbor or discovered through word of mouth. GFWC-TV has a committee charged with selecting homes months in advance.
The two Village homes are located in the Tanasi neighborhood, with a shuttle service in place to take visitors from the Yacht Club in order to lessen traffic and parking concerns.
Tickets for the event are $16 ahead of time or $20 on Nov. 6 and can be purchased at Sloan’s in Tellico Village, the Village Salon, the Welcome Center, Lake Front Living, On the Lake Realty in Rarity Bay, from any GFWC-TV member or online at gfwctellico.org/home-tour-tickets.
In addition to access to all four homes, ticket holders can join a sponsor meet-and-greet at the Yacht Club. Visitors will be able to enjoy light refreshments, including coffee and apple cider, and participate in a raffle contest for 10 special items.
All proceeds from the tour go to help local charities and nonprofits. Interested organizations submit a proposal to the club outlining what they would use the money for and a GFWC-TV committee makes decisions and distributes the funds afterward. All recipients will be listed on the club’s website by the new year for anyone curious about where their money went.
“Our main mission is to give away all the money we make, and we work on that pretty successfully,” Milligan said.
After canceling the tour in 2020 due to the pandemic, GFWC-TV returned last year with the same level of success. This year will be the 25th iteration, in the club’s 26th year, with participants always eager to take part.
“Everybody likes to look at somebody else’s house,” Cathy Maxwell, former GFWC-TV president, said. “It’s a fun event, you get ideas of what you can do, or you can ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ and say ‘how wonderful’ and not do anything except just admire the homes. We really have some beautiful homes in this area, and the owners enjoy showing them off and we enjoy the home tour.”
