Holiday home tours on tap in East County

By Roni Gehlke
For the Contra Costa Times

Luetta Spencer of Discovery Bay can get very festive during the holiday season, but this year she has an even better reason to go all out with her decorating. That's because she has agreed to open her home to the general public to get a look at how she celebrates the holidays.

Spencer is one of six Discovery Bay residents who will part of the Discovery Bay Holiday Home Tour.

Now in its 10th year, this tour is sponsored by the Discovery Bay Community Presbyterian Church and takes place on Dec. 5.

Other local oraginzations are also hosting holiday house tours, with the Liberty Union High School Educational Foundation hosting a tour Dec. 4 and Antioch Woman's Club on Dec. 12.

Last year, Spencer and her husband were away before the holiday, but she was quick to put up a few things when they came back. So this year she is going no-holds barred decorating nearly every room in her house for the tour.

"We were involved in the boat tour this year and the ladies of the holiday show asked me to do this and I said, 'I love the holidays,' so why not?" Spencer said.

Spencer has selected a theme for each of the rooms decorated in her house. Each room holds a tree with family mementos that she and her family collected over the years. She also has rooms where her grandchildren stay when they visit.

"The boys are into sports, so the room is filled with football, soccer and tennis items and a tree decorated in the theme," she said. "My granddaughter's room is filled with Geisha girls and a Japanese theme."

Spencer said she didn't purchase a lot of new items for the tour, but she did make up some new floral arrangements to display.

Discovery Bay Holiday Home Tour begins and ends at the church from 1 to 4 p.m. At the beginning of the tour, participants will be given a map of the homes in the tour and sent on their way to explore. The tour will be followed by musical entertainment, refreshments, door prizes and drawings.

Earliest arrival time at the church is 12:30 p.m. The church is at 1900 Willow Lake Road, Discovery Bay. Tickets are available in advance and at the door for $20. For tickets call Alice, 925-634-8470, Bev, 925-513-1939, or 925-634-0184. Proceeds from the event benefit the church's community projects.

Brentwood tour
Looking for a way to not only raise from for the Liberty Union High School District Educational Foundation, but also boost awareness of its programs, the group has decided to host its first Holiday Home Tour this year and offer a look at some very festively decorated Brentwood locations.

The Foundation was able to put together a tour with four homes and two businesses in the Brentwood area. The Dec. 4 tour starts at noon and goes on until 4 p.m. The event begins and ends at Hannah Nicole Vineyards, where attendees can pick up a Holiday Home Tour map.

"After the tour, attendees return to the winery for libations, refreshments, door prize drawings, live entertainment from our local high schools and a silent auction," said event coordinator and tour home participant Karen Rarey.

One of the homeowners on the tour, Kelli Nunn, will be showing her professionally decorated home by local home stagers Trish Dohren and Dana Mace of Staging Strategies.

Also involved in the tour is Exclusively Yours, a store dedicated to Christmas items this time of year.

All money raised will benefit the LUHSD Educational Foundation whose main mission is to enhance and enrich the educational programs within LUHSD. Rarey said that the foundation provides grants to teachers for new innovative programs and scholarships to students.

Tour-goers can purchase their tickets in advance or on the day of the event at Hannah Nicole Vineyards at 6700 Balfour Road. Tickets are $25 in advance (includes a glass of wine), $30 day of the event.

Tickets can be purchased in advance online at http://EducationWins.org/ or by mail at LUHSDEF, 20 Oak St., Brentwood, CA 94513.

Antioch's home tour
Antioch's Holiday Home Tour, which is sponsored by the Antioch Woman's Club, will be held Dec. 12. The Rivertown event will feature five homes and three businesses and include some of downtown's Victorian homes.

The tour will be from noon to 3:30 p.m. A reception will be held at the Veterans Memorial Hall on the corner of Sixth and E streets from 2:30 until 5 p.m. Tickets are available for $25 per person by calling Liese McCause at 925-777-1831 or Connie Komar at 925-522-8663 or at the following Antioch businesses: Teazz, 606 W. Second St., Boutique la Bellisima at 2220 A. St., Secured RV Storage at 6313 Bridgehead Road.

The event will also include a silent auction. Money raised will go toward local charities and scholarships for local high school students.