Columbiana touring homes for the holidays

COLUMBIANA - The chill in the air can only mean the yuletide season is on its way, and the Columbiana Women's Club is planning five locations in the city to kick off the holidays.

The club's third annual Christmas Brunch and Home Tours will be held Nov. 20-21. Home tours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and brunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"We have four homes - exquisite, tasteful, dynamic homes - on the tour this year," club spokeswoman Roberta Myers noted, all of which will be decorated for the holiday season.

The homes on the tour are interior decorator Nancy Bacon's Old Saybrooke home, which Myers said is unique; Diane Sarver's home on Royal Birkdale, which will host a country club atmosphere; Pat Tingle's French manor on Spring Hill Drive and Sandy Zellers' home on Kingwood Drive, which will be accented with numerous decorated Christmas trees.

"In fact, she has been in the process of doing her trees since before Halloween," Myers noted.

The brunch, which will be held at the Women's Club on North Main Street, will include quiche, fruit, pastries, tea and coffee.

For the first time, both floors of the club house will be open for viewing during the brunch. Myers said the Women's Club opened up the second floor for viewing for the first time during a card party earlier this year, but it has never before been open for the Christmas season.

The theme at the Women's Club will be "Christmas is Made for Children," and two exhibits there will carry that theme along.

The first will be a collection of artist-signed children's book illustrations, which are on loan from Elizabeth Stone's Alexandria, Va., gallery. Stone now lives in Salem and is a consultant for the Salem Storybook Museum.

The other exhibit at the North Main Street house will be a collection of antique children's toys.

A $15 donation is required to participate in the tours and brunch. Myers said the purpose of the donations is to financially sustain the historic club in the city and it's house, which was donated to the club by Helen Buzzard.

"To maintain and to assure that this will last for women for generations to come, we need to have various fund-raising projects," she explained.

Another fund raiser the women's club is holding alongside the home tours and brunch is a poinsettia sale.

The club is offering red, pink and white poinsettias for $8 each. Those wishing to purchase poinsettias must place their orders by Nov. 23 and may pick them up on Nov. 27 and 28.

Anyone interested in buying a poinsettia may call Myers at 330-892-0306 or Dorothy at 330-482-3966.

mschomer@mojonews.com