Charm House Tour is back
This year’s 40th annual Charm House tour on May 20 will feature homes that have weathered some difficult points in Laguna Beach’s history.
Event spokeswoman Barbara Picheny said Village Laguna, which hosts the tour, is looking forward to two Bluebird Canyon homes in the tour that endured the canyon’s devastating landslides.
One home in particular, she said, had actually been pushed to the roadway and had to be rebuilt. An architect heard of the homeowner’s plight and volunteered his services so that they could once again enjoy their space in the canyon. This home will be the site of refreshments.
Picheny said the result was a completely different home than the one prior to the landslide.
“In this town people deal with some very unusual threats,” she said. “People do love Laguna Beach and when these things happen, they do pull together.”
She said the homes will be a chance for locals to see the results of those efforts.
Another home the tour has added is “Casa La Concha” on Wykoff Way.
The home is in the style of a California mission, Picheny said, and includes antique relics from Mexico and early California, such as textiles, pottery and art.
The roof tiles and a fountain by the entrance were both imported from Mexico. The owner, an artist, raises chickens in her yard.
“It’s very much how we think of Laguna it its unique way — every home being very different,” Picheny said.
Members of the community, such as Mayor Jane Egly and other City Council members, will serve as tour guides on the buses, which leave from the Festival of Arts grounds and stop at each home.
Tour participants will have the chance to see five homes this year.
Twitter: @Joannaclay
If You Go
What: 40th annual Charm House Tour
When: 12 to 3 p.m., May 20
Cost: $45 until May 19 or $50 on May 20
Tickets: https://www.villagelaguna.org