Turtle Creek, Lakewood Home Tours Adapt With Virtual, Street-View Options

When COVID-19 hit North Texas, it effectively put the kibosh on spring home tours, and there hasn’t been a single home tour since.

However, two organizations have forged ahead with tours, albeit with different formats.

For instance, on Saturday, Oct. 10, the Turtle Creek Association will host its 2020 Tour of Homes entirely online. The event, which was canceled in April along with a slew of other spring home tours, is the primary fundraiser for the association. The event funds the enhancement and preservation of the 87 acres of greenways and park land along the Turtle Creek Corridor, all of which have grown in popularity as people look for safe ways to get outside during the stay-at-home orders.

“The virtual experience we have curated will highlight the beautifully designed homes along the Turtle Creek corridor and most importantly keep everyone safe,” said JD Trueblood, CEO of Turtle Creek Association. “Funds raised from the tour will be used to continue our efforts to re-landscape the medians on Turtle Creek Boulevard. Our focus is on reducing our environmental footprint through the installation of a new drip line irrigation system that we estimate will save 5.5 million gallons of water per year.  We believe this investment is a critical step forward in creating a sustainable use of natural resources while balancing the beautiful aesthetic of the Turtle Creek Corridor. That’s why our goal is to raise $300,000 by the end of 2020 to complete the sustainability transformation of this iconic city owned park.”

The homes on the Turtle Creek Tour of Homes are some of the creme de la creme of the area, all piped direct to your preferred device and featuring Jocelyn White herself as host.

Virtual tour tickets are $40 apiece, and you can secure a Premier Event ticket that features a charcuterie board from Abraham Salum. Tickets are still available on the tour’s website.

Lakewood Home Festival Takes it to The Street 

One of the most popular fall home tours, the Lakewood Home Festival, took a different tack with their event. The annual home tour and auction party is the chief fundraiser for the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA, which supports schools within the Woodrow feeder pattern.

The organization chose to take their event partially virtual with the Lakewood Live virtual auction party on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. However, the tour will continue, just without the actual “tour” part.

With the purchase of a $20 guide book, tourgoers can discover the homes on the Lakewood Home Tour via car, bike, feet, or perhaps even one of those party bikes that come with a keg (invite us if you do this!).

The street-view only event runs on Saturday, November 14, and Sunday, November 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The addresses will be held secret until a few days before the event, and the program will feature gorgeous interior shots from Jenifer McNeil Baker.

“It was such a tough decision on whether or not to continue with the Home Festival this year,” Jill Meyer, President of the LECPTA, explains. “Back in June when we were deciding, so much was up in the air around the coronavirus and what the fall would look like, and other events were being cancelled left and right. We felt strongly that we had to keep our community safe, but we also knew how much this event and its traditions means to Lakewood. In the end, we think we came to a great solution to allow the event to proceed but in a unique, different way.”