View four decorated borough homes and the Indian King Tavern and Museum on Thursday, Dec. 13 during the 13th annual Haddonfield Holiday House Tour.
More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the tour, said event co-chair Betsy Anderson.
“A lot of people make a day out of it,” Anderson said, with trips to half of the locations in the morning, lunch downtown and the rest of the tour in the afternoon or at night.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 4 p.m. and will start back up again from 5 to 9 p.m.
“We sell more tickets to out-of-towners than we do to the Haddonfield people,” she said.
Tickets are on sale at the Haddonfield Public Library, the Information Center, 2 Kings Court, and can also be purchased online.
Tickets are priced at $15 in advance or $20 the day of the event.
If tickets were ordered online, they can be picked up at the Information Center the day of the tour between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
According to a release, “checks can be made payable to the Friends of the Indian King.”
The listed tour locations are the home of Tom and Debbie Mervine, 437 Beechwood Ave., the home of Dewaine and Clare Osman, 450 Merion Ave., the Indian King Tavern and Museum, 233 Kings Highway East, the home of Jon and Debbie Robins, 228 Washington Ave., and the home of Michael and Denise Amons, 16 Lafayette Ave.
There is always a variation in the style of homes on the tour, said Anderson, this year including a victorian, brick colonial, a “charming” home, and a Tuscan-inspired newly built home.
“We’re proud of this year’s tour,” she said.
Each year, there are either five homes included, or, like this year, four homes and a special extra destination.
The award-winning Haddonfield Garden Club, she said, will decorate Indian King Tavern in the era of the 1800s.
“It is gorgeous,” she said.
The event generally brings in about $20,000 to be used in a local non-profit organization’s project.
The money donated cannot be used to supplement operating costs, Anderson added.
This year’s recipient is the Friends of the Indian King Tavern.
Past recipients include the Historical Society of Haddonfield, Markeim Arts Center, Interfaith Caregivers, the dinosaur project and the Haddonfield Friends of the Library.
“They just do wonderful things with the money,” Anderson said. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”
About 250 volunteers are enlisted to help in the event.
Each house will have a house captain and guides in each room for both safety purposes and to give important information to visitors about the room, including heirlooms and collections.
“They don’t just walk though a house,” she said.
Tour officials request that attendees do not take photographs or bring food into the homes.
Guest should take off their shoes upon entrance, according to a release, and plan to wear socks.
Another location in town open in conjunction with the tour is the Markeim Art Center, which will be hosting its annual Holiday Art Exhibit and Sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The center will offer hot cider and cookies for tour attendees.
Accent Studio, 123 Kings Highway East, will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., donating a portion of sales of the commemorative Friendship Ball to the Indian King Tavern.
The ornament is priced at $25.
According to a release, Rich and Karen Federici of Vineland handcrafted the limited edition ball.
For more information, visit www.haddonfieldnj.org.
