Charm House Tour makes up-front move

Mike Swanson

Village Laguna’s 31st annual Charm House Tour on May 18 will begin in front of Festival of Arts grounds rather than on its grounds as it

has for more than 20 years, and members of Village Laguna expect this

to be its last year there.

Because of an application process administered by the Festival of

Arts board, which Village Laguna wasn’t aware of, the board leased

the grounds in early March to Music in the Park for May 18. Village

Laguna member Johanna Felder said the group talked to organizers of

Music in the Park, who said they’d love the Charm House Tour to

conclude on Festival of Arts grounds just as its free concert begins.

“It isn’t the Festival’s policy to rent to two parties in one

day,” Felder said, “but that’s obviously a policy that should change

if neither party minds the other one being there. There’s no time

conflict, so there shouldn’t have been a problem.

“We’ll probably find a place much nicer than the Festival of Arts

grounds to start the tour next year, and we’ll never have to go

through this again.”

Susan Davis, director of marketing and special events for the

Festival of Arts, cited security, liability and scheduling conflicts

as primary reasons for the application process. She said she knew

nothing about the Charm House Tour until seeing an ad within the last

month that said it was starting on Festival of Arts grounds.

“I’ve been leasing our facilities for the last two years,” Davis

said, “and I don’t ever remember anyone using the grounds without

going through the application process. I wasn’t even aware they were

here last year. It must have been on a weekend when nothing else was

scheduled, so there was evidently no conflict, but I certainly didn’t

know they were here.”

To avoid confusing attendees used to the tour beginning on

Festival of Arts grounds, Village Laguna met with city officials and

decided buses could collect tour-goers in front of its grounds, by

the tennis courts. Doug Reilly, publicity director for the Charm

House Tour, said the change “might even save us a little money,”

adding that “it’s not as big a deal as some people seem to want it to

be. It’ll still be obvious where we are.”

Felder, in charge of transportation for the tour, has been

concerned about the use of the bathrooms on Festival grounds.

The Irvine Bowl Committee stated Thursday the bathrooms are public

and will remain open.

Felder said this is the first year the Festival of Arts, which

runs from July 6 to Aug. 29, has had lease rights to the park as

early as May. Davis said the Festival of Arts does have a new lease

with the city that allows the Festival exclusive access to its

grounds starting May 1 to prepare for its July start, but believes

they’ve also had lease rights to what’s normally a public park as

early as May in the past.

“We don’t lease our grounds to raise money,” Davis said. “We do it

for our community. We house so many local events here, especially

with our theater, and we have to keep it organized.”

The site Village Laguna favors for future Charm Tour starting

points is on Broadway, in front of the bus station, where Felder said

the road is wide enough to accommodate parked buses, and public

restrooms are steps away.

Reilly said 700 tickets have been printed for this year’s tour,

and expects it to sell out as it always does. Tickets are $30

pre-sale and $35 on the bus, if there are any left.

Buses will also be stationed at the ACT V parking lot to take

attendees to the front of the Festival of Arts grounds. Buses will

leave from ACT V to the Festival of Arts to the five houses included

in the tour from noon to 3:30 p.m. The tour typically lasts two to

three hours, and the houses, “ranging from Laguna charmers to modern

masterpieces,” according to Reilly, will close at 5:30 p.m.

“All in all,” Felder said, “this may turn out for the better, but

I have a bad taste in my mouth with how it all came about.”