If you've ever gazed at an architecturally stylish cedar home or paddled past a waterfront palace, you might have wished you could knock on the door and take a peek inside. Now is your opportunity, says Patricia Hetherington. Some of the Coast's most attractive homes will be open on Sunday, June 6, from 12 to 4 p.m. for the self-guided Coastal Home Tour and Tea, a fund-raiser for the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden Society. Two days before the event, participants will be given a map of the six house locations on the Coast - situated from Langdale to Roberts Creek - that will welcome visitors. "Some are waterfront with views," says Hetherington, who organized the event. "Some are tucked away in the woods." Each has individual character or charm.
"There's a diversity of beautiful homes on the Coast," she says, drawing on her experience as a realtor. Although the Botanical Garden Society will benefit from the tour, the homes do not necessarily have spectacular gardens. But they all have something of interest about them. The most exciting part for Hetherington is the opportunity to offer visitors the hospitality of tea and desserts at her own Rose Pointe Ocean House in Hopkins Landing throughout the tour. She has hosted weddings and parties, but has never held a community event in the spacious yard surrounded by rose bushes.
Visitors can stop there for tea at any time during the afternoon tour from 12 to 4 p.m., with last tea service provided at 3:45. Hetherington has lined up three-tiered china cake plates and elegant teapots along with the lemonade, dainty tea cakes and savouries. For those with difficulties in walking, Rose Pointe is a level, accessible property; at the other locations, a tour guide will be on site to assist.
Tickets for the Coastal Home Tour and Tea are available at Coast Books and Matthews & More in Gibsons and Talewind Books in Sechelt for $25.
