URBANA — A time-honored tradition in Champaign County is returning after two years of pandemic hiatus.
The Champaign County Preservation Alliance (CCPA) has set the return of the Annual Historic Home & Garden Tour for its 28th year over the weekend of June 25 and 26.
Homes, gardens, and local businesses will be featured on this years’ tour focused in and around the City of Urbana. The CCPA is working diligently with homeowners and local businesses to ensure that visitors from all over are welcomed back to Urbana with open arms.
This year’s tour features five homes as “completed” homes; they have been renovated and preserved as fully usable spaces, while two other homes will serve as examples of restoration projects. There is a residential garden on the tour, as well as the City’s Community Garden. This year’s featured business is the Urbana Youth Center, located in what used to be the City’s library.
“What a feeling! To be able to bring this Tour back to life after two years of a pandemic, we are truly blessed and looking forward to bringing visitors back to Urbana to see how historic preservation can impact a community,” Sandy Gonzalez, chairman of the Historic Home & Garden Tour and trustee of the CCPA, said.
The tour hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both, Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26. Shuttle services will be available for tour goers, as not all homes are located close to each other. Pre-sale tickets will be available online beginning May 15 for $12 each, and tickets sold the days of the event will be available for $15 each.
The CCPA is fortunate to have support from many people and businesses in Champaign County and looks forward to showing visitors that it is possible to live, work, and play in preserved historical spaces.
Funds raised throughout the tour are used for the Matching Façade Grant Program. The CCPA offers matching grants for the repair and/or restoration of pre-1940 homes and commercial grants anywhere in Champaign County. For more information about the Program, or to apply for a Matching Façade Grant, please visit https://www.ccpapreserveohio.org/facade-grants.html.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the CCPA, learning more about other CCPA events, or donating in kind, please visit https://www.ccpapreserveohio.org/.
