Lake Arrowhead home tour a living inspiration

By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer

Lake Arrowhead’s 49th annual home tour, produced by the Lake Arrowhead Chamber of Commerce, was held on Sept. 21, 2024. The home tour is a community-run event, where volunteers work together to show off the best of Lake Arrowhead to visitors and locals alike. This year, at the volunteer dinner afterwards held at the Burnt Mill Beach Club, Lake Arrowhead Chamber Executive Director Robin Bull gushed over the marvelous volunteers and docents who made the whole event run smoothly and the homeowners who allowed their homes to be showcased.

From the coffee table-book quality of the printed program of the homes, overseen by Tricia DuFore, the excellent selection of homes, the docents who were the hosts and hostesses at each home and the shuttle boat captains and shuttle bus drivers to the dock crew guys and sponsors, each contributed to a successful 49th Annual Home Tour, said Bull. “These volunteers have a passion for our community, which is invaluable and cannot be appreciated enough. Also, thank you Darren, Tricia and Sondra, we couldn’t do it without you.” 

Sondra Hughes added, “This working together makes us a community worth living in. Over the last 20, years we’ve developed wonderful relationships through the home tour and with the families whose homes we’ve shown. I hope we can look forward to another 49 years of community involvement of people who love to live here. Robin does the work of three and has so many connections that make this event occur each year. I thank Chamber President Cecilia [Ponce De Leon, Publisher of this newspaper] for her efforts, too.” 

The docents for the home tour want to help make Lake Arrowhead better, and so many help to make Lake Arrowhead a phenomenal place to be, year-round. This year, each home had morning and afternoon shifts of volunteer docents to show the guests through the homes, pointing out the unique features of each custom home.  Each one has dozens of local docents, and with so many homes there are hundreds of volunteers, which is what makes the tour run so smoothly. 

Every home presents a slightly different face of the community. For example the docents at the Cedar Ridge Symphony home was where 3rd year home tour docent Karen Parrish and her friends welcomed the guests to saxophone music performed by Brendon Watson and Evangeline De Leon, members of the Blue Jay Jazz Foundation, out on the home’s deck overlooking the forest. 

Chris Levister, BJJF president, said, “Our purpose and mission is to build and shape the dreams of young musicians, who are performing here where we get to showcase these fine young musicians’ talents.” 

A shuttle bus took guests to the delightful, level-entry Cedar Ridge home with a fountain in front. The docents were A.M. Shift Leader Karen Parish and P.M. Shift Leader Michelle Ruvolo, assisted by docents Ruthanne Walker Rice, Lori Butler, Mary Blanca, Tracy Sott, Phyllis Fowler, Heather Ruvolo, Denise LaMonte, Natalie Holland, Lee Ann Aquirre, Rochelle Holland, Karen Singleton and Chris and Ernie Levister.

The Wooden Boat House on the lakeshore is owned by Ben and Anthy Price. He’s the president of the Lake Arrowhead Wooden Boat Association, so logically his home was filled with models of antique wooden boats, musical instruments and certificates and honors Ben’s wooden boat has won over the years. They also had a great selection of books on their shelves reflecting the family’s interest in boats and local history. Their personal award-winning Riva wooden boat was displayed at their dock. 

This home was one of the two homes reached by shuttle boat, where volunteers were coordinated by Linda Tyer and Leah Weis. For the morning shift, docents from the Mountain History Museum, including Cindy Burnett, Sheila Davis, Sheila Arnett and Sandra Koos. were there reminding folks of the upcoming Antique and Wooden Boat show next June 14 at Lake Arrowhead Village and the free Mountain Museum which is open on weekends. Other docents included Michelle Wavering, Carol La Barrere, Hilda Herrera, Ann Wheeler, Raul Herrera, Brianna Juel, Desiree Rosalee, George Weis, Gene Weaver, Michael Finigan, Joanne Wever, Cindy Wali and Sandy and Bruce Wegner. 

The Tavern Bay home featured musicians Erin Zhou and James Phillips playing violins from the Arrowhead Arts Association. As people walked up from the shuttle boats, which left them at the shore, they were greeted by lovely live music emitting from the ground floor of the home. While touring the three-story, seven-bedroom home, the music resonated throughout. The musicians were demonstrating the fabulous musical program and lessons offered to youth through the Arrowhead Arts program, which also presents symphony concerts for the community to enjoy throughout the year. 

The tour guides at this home, which functions as a vacation rental with seven bedrooms and sleeps 27, were home tour guide coordinators Terri Clark and Roby Enany. The home coordinators write a short script for the docents of all the important aspects of each home, including the designers and unique items. The Tavern Bay Lakefront A.M. Shift Leader was Pat Jongerius and the P.M. Shift Leader was Christi Schneider, with docents Hortensia Jarado, Shannon Henyan, Patty Hobson, Kate Lander, Linda Statis, Bonnie Currier, Lou Ann McCumber, Ken Currier, Julie Peterson, Gayle Pinkson, Becky Rodriguez, Meliss Coates, Karen Powell, Linda Davis, Marla Marganian and Marina Morales. Many docents this day represented the Rim of the World Soroptimists.

For a complete change of pace, the Serendipity Gardens are a beautifully cultivated location on a hillside with a wide variety of flowers and plants. Each garden had a theme and many were accented with large sculptures of a variety of themes from giant dinosaurs to whimsical concepts and even a English phone booth for making spiritual phone calls. Halfway though the walk in the garden, guests were given a chance to sit and were rewarded with a cup of cool lemonade before beginning the walk back through another portion of the garden. The docents along the way, who helped the guests stay on the pathway and told about the plants along the way, were A.M. Shift Leader Janet Sekerman and P.M. Shift Leader Erin Wiley, assisted by docents Marie Cortez, Linda Jones, Diana Coles, Kellie, Kristen Cato, Carmen Garton, Rhonda Steele, Laure Stack and Geri Berlanga. The Serendipity Gardens demonstrated to all that a beautiful garden with varied plants is possible in the mountains. The Lemonade stand was a collaboration between the locals of the Mountain Provisions Co-op and Twin Peaks Farmer’s Market.

 

 

At the top of the hill with a spectacular view of Lake Arrowhead was the Kaleidoscope House with live guitar music being played by Frankie Sparkman in the garden, playing songs from his new album and other favorites all afternoon. The home had a level entry after the shuttle bus delivered folks to the remote location. The home had recently been remodeled and decorated by Elevated Nest, so the docents were pointing out the many unique and original items in the home, including the curved fireplace and fabulous chimney. The A.M. Shift Leader was Cathy Brown and the P.M. Shift Leader was Laura Linton MacFarlane. The docents were Yvonne Lockwood, Emily Reynolds, Cindy O’Kelly, Karen Ice, Doris Scholtz, Susan Middleton, Jeri Nielsen, Dawna Tibbets, Renee Kowalski, Laurel Emery, Ines Stewart, Kristin Countryman, Joe Stewart and Barbara Tingley. 

The theme of the day was Living Inspirations and each home presented another aspect of the wonders of Lake Arrowhead living, and the docents in each home as local residents demonstrated the beauty of mountain living. In the Living Inspiration magazine, designed by Tricia Dufore, was a special tribute to Carol Banner who had coordinated the shuttle boat fleet for the home tour for decades and done so much more for the community and the chamber of commerce. She was recognized by Senator Mike Morrel as a Woman of Distinction for all she has done for the community over the years.  

The homes with their designers and décor had been described in detail in previous issues of the Alpine Mountaineer over the past three weeks and in the Living Inspirations magazine, but the volunteers are what makes the tour attract visitors, year-after-year, from all over Southern California, and encourages them to bring their friends the next year. It was said, despite the recent fires depressing ticket sales these past two weeks, even more attended this year’s show than last year.  

Guest June from San Diego, who has attended the Home Tour for three years, said she brought her friend Sarah this year because the tour always opens her up to new design ideas when she attends the Lake Arrowhead Home Tour. While on the shuttle boat returning to the village in the afternoon, Sarah, said, “I am overwhelmed by the wonderful homes I’ve seen, and amazed at all the lovely people who are in the homes showing them off. I can tell they truly love this community and living here. I do plan to come again as I have attended other home tours, but this one has a warmth of its docents plus truly astonishing home design.”

See the Lake Arrowhead Chamber of Commerce website and social media site Lakearrowheadhometour.com for additional photos and more comments on this year’s Living Inspirations home tour.