Akron’s Gay Community Endowment Fund to host annual Sugar Plum Tour of Holiday Homes – cleveland.com

AKRON, Ohio – The Gay Community Endowment Fund of the Akron Community Foundation is hosting its annual Sugar Plum Tour of Holiday Homes fundraiser in December.

This year marks the 20th anniversary for the event, which will be held in both live and virtual formats and feature tours of beautifully decorated homes throughout Greater Akron. Proceeds support the local LGBTQ+ community, as well as Greater Akron as a whole. Last year’s event raised more than $100,000 for the fund. Recent grants awarded by the fund have created safer environments for LGBTQ+ youth, combated phobias of the LGBTQ+ community and supported mental health and suicide-prevention programs for LGBTQ+ people.

The live event will feature tours of five expertly decorated homes on Dec. 5 from 1-5 p.m. The virtual tour will showcase professionally filmed and narrated tours of eight homes during the weekend of Dec. 11-12. Homes featured in this year’s tour include a Tudor with an outdoor summer house in Bath Twp.; a recently renovated Georgian mansion in Fairlawn Heights; a large brick home with luxury finishes in Bath; a “whimsical and eclectic colonial” in West Akron; and a custom-built country house on a private cul-de-sac in Bath.

General admission tickets are $35 each for the live or virtual tours, or $60 for both. Tickets purchased before Nov. 1 will be discounted. Sponsorships start at $500 and include tickets for both the live and virtual tours, admission to a private party at the former Firestone estate in West Akron, a commemorative holiday ornament and more.

Tickets for the live tour can also be purchased Dec. 5 at Angel Falls Coffee Company, 792 W. Market St., in Akron. Both printed and digital tour guides with maps of the home locations will be offered to tour attendees. Event guidelines will comply with all current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local regulations for COVID-19.

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