The Shadow
Tours of homes in Covington’s Olde Town District will be held Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. to help raise funds for the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council.
The Olde Town Parlor Tour will feature eight historic dwellings, all decorated for the Christmas season. Hot spiced cider, other beverages and sample treats will be provided. Victorian Carolers singing Christmas music will be featured along the route.
The event will begin at the C&O Depot, 149 S. Maple Ave., where participants will pay admission and acquire a booklet mapping the route and telling “the story” of each house.
From there, visitors will make their way to the first house on the tour, the home of Phyllis Bosserman at 302 N. Lexington Ave. Next door, the McClintic House, owned by Bill Zimmerman, at 308 N. Lexington, will showcase paintings by the late Carla Bell. Tammy Scruggs owns the third home, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and Riverside Street. It is at this house that visitors will find carollers performing songs of the season.
Just across the street at 444 W. Riverside Ave., new owners Elizabeth and Michael Armstrong will show the progression of their recent rennovations. Further down the street at 430 W. Riverside is the home of Allen Harrison. Sunday’s guests will learn the real story behind what made this house famous for the Santa Claus face that hung in the attic window for decades. At 136 W. Riverside, is one of Covington’s oldest dwellings, which now houses the office of Pat Johnson Travel. The family will introduce you to their ghost Mattie who is well-known and documented by this and many former owners. The final stop is another of the city’s oldest buildings, the Callaghan House, which is owned by Dianne Garcia at the corner of Main Street and Court Avenue. Participants will enter from the long porch into the first floor where Mrs Garcia has recreated an authentic Victorian Parlor.
Admission of the event is $15 and homes will close at 5 pm. For more information, call the Arts Council at 962-6220.
