As the safety and enjoyment of our members and guests is paramount to our Tour, for just this year, we are focusing on the ‘Garden‘ part of our House & Garden Tour and taking our guests “Behind the Hedges” into seven of the most beautiful and horticulturally interesting gardens and outdoor living spaces in the Naples area. Each of the outdoor living spaces will be enhanced with a themed partyscape created by one of the famous floral designers of Naples and by our own floral design team. The exciting scenarios for outdoor entertaining are enchanting … bursting with ideas for you to reimagine in your own spot of Paradise!
Utilizing the unique open-air trolleys of Naples, we are only inviting 500 guests so that personal space can be respected. We realize that in past years there has been a custom that all members can attend the Tour the day before the actual Tour. The Preview Tour is not feasible this year and we have only half the number of seats as usual, so, again, just in this unusual year, members either volunteer or they purchase a ticket to the Tour. It is very customary in other clubs for members to buy tickets in support of their fundraisers.
Patron tickets go on sale November 15th at $275 and include preferred parking as well as the ability to buy three more General Admission tickets so that their group might tour together. As we know that many members will want to attend, after the Patron tickets have been available for a week, we have created a special Member ticket category on sale November 22nd at $150. General Admission tickets open up December 1st at $150.
A précis of the guest experience: Guests, who will be asked to carpool, park their cars at one of two parking areas in Old Naples or Port Royal. There they check in, receive their program with highlights of what they are about to see, and board their trolley for a three-hour morning or afternoon Tour. Trolley Hostesses greet the guests and, at each stop, Garden Hostesses assist small groups through the gardens. Garden Docents are on hand to assist with specific horticultural questions. At one of the gardens, light refreshments reminiscent of an English Garden Party are served and some of the fabulous online Raffle items are displayed. As guests return to their cars, they receive a delightfully elegant picnic take-away tote to go off and dine with friends where they wish (suggestions for some spots are included) and also a beautiful garden tote filled with useful garden related goodies to take home.
A précis of the volunteer experience: There are volunteer opportunities both before the actual Tour date as well as 4 hour shifts on the day. Volunteers are invited to view the gardens when they are not working. As in the past, transportation for the volunteers is up to themselves but we will provide suggested parking opportunities for each spot.
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes many volunteers to present an event of this magnitude. Click here or on the button to find the names of the Chairmen to contact to offer your time for their team or to learn what is involved. Sign Up Genius will go online on our website very soon also.
Please share the news of this exciting day with friends and family. Ticket announcements will be mailed soon but you are all our best ambassadors. The painting on our program cover, seen on the slide, was created and graciously donated to us by the husband of a member. It expresses the beauty and extravagance of the gardens and outdoor entertainment areas that await our guests on what will be the gloriously sunny day of February 5, 2022, when we all go “Behind the Hedges”.
