13th annual Sugar Plum holiday home tour set for Dec. 7

Some of the area’s finest historic and contemporary homes will open their doors Sunday, Dec. 7, from 1:30 to 5 p.m. for the 13th annual Sugar Plum Tour.

The Sugar Plum Tour is Akron’s premier holiday home tour and the signature fundraiser of the Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation. This year’s tour will feature five exquisitely decorated homes in West Akron, Bath and Richfield. Guests at the patron ticket level will also be invited to a private party at an exclusive sixth location in Hudson from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Last year’s Sugar Plum Tour raised nearly $60,000 for the fund, which supports programs that positively impact the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

The first home on the tour is a beautiful house on a small city lot in the Highland Square district featuring art the young owners created themselves. A few blocks away is a breathtaking bungalow designed by the famous architectural firm Harpster and Bliss, recently renovated by its third owner. The next home is a multi-level, carriage-style condominium, full of contemporary art and furniture. The fourth home is a cedar and stone house built in a rustic setting in Bath that displays numerous family treasures and more than 100 Santa Claus figures. The final home is a 7,000-square-foot house in the Glencairn Forest neighborhood of Richfield. It is elegant and handicapped-accessible, with spectacular views of the lake.

The patron party home is a Prestige Home in Hudson, decorated by Eric Jones of Jones Group Interiors. The 14-foot ceilings, knotty alder woodwork, and hickory floors add to the old-world feel of the home. The spacious, open-concept floor plan will warmly welcome patron party guests for the evening.

This exciting holiday event sells out quickly each year, so tour-goers are encouraged to order their tickets early. Tickets go on sale Monday, Nov. 10, at 10 a.m. General admission tickets are $25 and include the five-home, self-guided tour. A limited number of patron tickets will also be available for $150. Patron tickets include an invitation to the patron party at a sixth location in Hudson, as well as a limited-edition Zeber-Martell holiday ornament. Additional limited-edition commemorative ornaments designed by local artist Claudia Zeber-Martell will be available for $20.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.sugarplumtour.org or by calling 330-376-8522. Cash-only general admission tickets are also available at Angel Falls Coffee Company at 792 W. Market St. in Akron. General tour attendee sign-in and map pickup will begin at 1 p.m. on the day of the tour at Angel Falls Coffee Company. Patron ticket holders and sponsors may pick up their tickets, tour guides, and holiday ornaments at the West Side Bakery, 2303 W. Market St. in Akron, beginning at 1 p.m.

The presenting sponsors of the 2014 Sugar Plum Tour are Ron Bailey & Bill Edwards, Leaf Filter, and Donna Rizor – UBS Financial Group. Major corporate sponsors include Bravo! Cucina Italiana, Jones Group Interiors Inc., and Summa Health System. Individual sponsors include Dr. Todd A. Brown, MD; Bluegrass Landscape Designs Irrigation & Lighting; and David Wyzynski & Jeff Prystajko.

About the Gay Community Endowment Fund

Founded in 2001, the Gay Community Endowment Fund is a permanent philanthropic endowment of Akron Community Foundation. It facilitates and perpetuates philanthropy by supporting programs and services that support or positively impact the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, as well as the entire greater Akron community. Since its inception, the fund has grown to more than $900,000 while reinvesting more than $315,000 into the community. Contributions of any amount are welcome and support future grant-making. Checks may be sent to the Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307-2407. For more information, or to contribute, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.gaycommunityfund.org.

About Akron Community Foundation

Celebrating 59 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. Today, it is a philanthropic endowment of more than $185 million with a growing family of more than 450 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation welcomes gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation’s funds have awarded more than $116 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncf.org.