House and Garden Festival

I have a question regarding this Festival put on by the Historic Charleston Foundation. I can see on the website which tours they will be having, but I am unclear of exactly how the tour meets up. I intend to do the Broad Street, the Tradd Street, and The G Garden. They have no contact info until after nov 1. I was wondering if anyone has gone to the festival and could tell me if you must meet up with the group at a certain place or if you simply meet up (ticket in hand) at any of the homes along the tour during the tour period. For example the Broad Street tour is from 2 to 4pm. Is this done as a large group or can you wander at own pace. Any other info or comments on the Festival would be most welcome also.

Thank you.

House and Garden Festival

Pick up your tickets at the Preservation Society office (the Fall tours are held by the Preservation Society, not the Historic Society - oddly, this town is big enough to have both!) www.preservationsociety.org

When you pick up the tickets, you will get a list and a map. The maps can be confusing so I%26#39;d suggest taking a few minutes and orienting yourself first. You walk at your own pace and you can walk in any order you wish. Some people like to start at the end - smart. You could zig zag all you want - let%26#39;s say you get to a house that has a line out front - go on to another if it%26#39;s close by. Usually about 8-12 people can go in the house (or into the garden) at one time. On a house tour, you might have 8 people on the porch getting the overview while 8 people are in the foyer and 8 more are in the kitchen and 8 more in the dining room, so the house can have 24 or more people easily. The lines go relatively fast - the groups should never spend more than 5 minutes or so in any one area. Their information has been pared down to what the owner would like the public to know, and to respect their privacy, some information has been left out intentionally. (ie: many people ask: ';What do these people do for a living - they must be very wealthy'; and that information is not often shared or even known by the docents)

I would want to start the tour at the ';opening time'; as if you need to you may take a break, but if you run out of time, the docents have strict rules to close the doors ';on time';. The Society feels that if they don%26#39;t stick to strict rules, the generous homeowners might not participate again.

You will have a great time and meet some WONDERFUL people from ALL OVER THE WORLD. I met many Aussies, Brits, Canadians, you name it. Bring an umbrella just in case as the tours are not cancelled except in lightning situations or worse.

Welcome to Charleston!

House and Garden Festival

Thank you for your help. I am not going to the Fall tour.. I am going to the Spring one. I will be in town from April 3 to 10. I like to plan ahead. This way I can make sure I am aware of all the great activities ect available. I like to plan my days.. and have already picked the three 45.00 tours. I thank you for letting me know I can just show up with ticket in hand. I intend to purchase them as soon as available. Also.. When you spend money this far ahead by the time your vacation arrives it is not so hard on pocket book. Already got my flight from Calgary Canada to Charleston.. With Gas going up seemed like a good plan before they raise flights. I can understand why they are strict about the house tours.