Spring, nature’s season of renewal, is upon us, and we relish occasions to celebrate this invigorating time of year.

On April 28, the Natchez Garden Club/Preservation Society of Ellicott Hill will host such an occasion — its 11th Party for Preservation and The Symphony of Home & Garden Tours.

This elegant tour affords a glimpse through front doors and into private gardens in beautiful Natchez.

This year’s tour will feature more contemporary venues than the mansions and grounds toured in the past. With both a morning and an afternoon tour of unique locales, this event offers something for everyone in the family. The morning tour from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. will feature Sunset View Cottage, home to Louise Peabody located on Cemetery Road; Rosehill Cottage, home of Colleen and Rusty Lewis located on Auburn Avenue and two condos in The Depot Condo complex, Bobbie and Bill Henley and Susan Barnes. Gary Wills of Creative Exteriors will offer a landscape display in the courtyard of The Canal Depot during the morning tour.

Lunch awaits tour participants on the galleries and within the main-floor rooms of Magnolia Hall located on South Pearl Street and will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The box lunches, included with the tour, allow a relaxed atmosphere where participants can view the restored landscape parterre garden just recently completed from a generous grant from the National Park Service.

The afternoon tour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. includes the home of Bob and Fay Weatherly on Duster Drive, in Woodhaven Subdivision, as well as the homes of Dick Thompson and Evelyn Fairbanks, Tom and Ginger Schwager, and Richard and Katie Grace Edgin, all located in the Beau Pré Country Club area.

An all-inclusive experience, this life-styles tour takes you from seeing a modern golf course to the last grand antebellum mansion built in Natchez. Tickets for the day-long tour, including lunch are $40 per person available in advance or during the morning tour houses.

Our evening party, Party for Preservation, will be following the home and garden tour at The Cedars, antebellum home of David and Betty Paradise in Church Hill. Sponsors, guests and the public are invited to attend this benefit for the non-profit Preservation Society of Ellicott Hill, whose purpose is to assist the Natchez Garden Club in the preservation of their properties. Tickets will be available at the door. The Party for Preservation serves as an annual benefit for the sole purpose of restoring the club’s properties, including antebellum Magnolia Hall, which recently kicked off its capital campaign for restoration.

Most recently, we were able to match funds from an anonymous gift to begin restoration work for Magnolia Hall’s Phase I that included a new roof and extensive repair to six chimneys. The Phase II project focuses on shutter and window repair along with the exterior painting. Phase III will encompass interior plaster repair and painting.

Sponsorship opportunities are as follows: platinum sponsorship is $1,000 and you will receive eight tickets to Party for Preservation; gold sponsorship is $750 and you will get six tickets to Party for Preservation; silver sponsorship is $500 for four tickets to Party for Preservation; bronze sponsorship is $250 for two tickets to Party for Preservation.

Guests at this dress-casual cocktail party will enjoy musical entertainment by Alvin Shelby and The Divas, a new jazzy musical group for entertaining all ages, along with the amenities of a cash bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres. The setting is one of the area’s most remarkable gardens, the perfect setting for such an entertaining evening. Guests will be able to stroll throughout the manicured grounds as they view the sun’s slow descent in the west. Join us for this remarkable evening — bask in the beautiful countryside, enjoy the intriguing music and delectable food and preserve one of Natchez’s historic granddames, Magnolia Hall.

Tickets at $50 each for the Party for Preservation are available in advance or at the door. Tickets for both the tour and Party for Preservation are $80. For sponsorships and tickets, contact the Natchez Garden Club office 601-443-9065, ntzgardenclub@bellsouth.net or me at cherylrinehart25@gmail.com.

For tickets only, contact Natchez Pilgrimage Tours 601-446-6631, www.natchezpilgrimage.com, 640 South Canal St., in the Natchez Visitor Center.

 

Cheryl Rinehart is the chairperson of the Party for Preservation and The Symphony of Home and Garden Tours.