PTA boosters offer 33rd annual area house tour

It may benefit just the local PTA, but this year the 33rd annual Corona del Mar Home Tour is a full community effort.

Every year, the Corona del Mar High School PTA hosts a tour of opulent homes in the Newport Beach area to raise money for students. Tomorrow, six houses in Crystal Cove, Emerald Bay, Irvine Terrace and other wealthy communities will open to visitors for viewing — and this year, not one of the host families has children who attend the school.

As far as co-chair Robyn Moss is concerned, that outside support means two things: that the tour has a reputation for showing off the best homes in Newport Beach, and that even non-parents in the community want to help Corona del Mar students.

“I think our reputation is tremendous, and the people in the community want to help the school as well,” said Moss, who is co-chairing the event along with parent Rita Goldberg. “Every year, the homeowners are just wonderful people, just gracious and giving and generous people.”

The home tour kicks off Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. with breakfast at the French 75 restaurant in Fashion Island. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the homes will open with a lunch at 11 a.m. at Sherman Gardens. A cocktail reception caps the event at 4 p.m. at Neiman Marcus.

Tickets for the event are $60 and can be purchased at the Fashion Island concierge desk, Newport Hills Pharmacy, the Gatehouse on 17th Street, Even Sisters on Balboa Island, Sherman Gardens and the Corona del Mar High School main office. For an extra $20, attendees can purchase a pass for a bus that travels to each of the houses on the tour — three of which are not accessible by car.

In the past, money from the home tour has gone to purchase laptops, classroom supplies, stipends for new teachers and other things. Moss said the PTA hadn’t determined what to spend the funds on this year — but with the parents selling more ads than ever in the home tour’s guide book, they expected a hefty sum.

“We have very lofty goals this year, so we would like to net $150,000,” she said.

Tickets for the Corona del Mar Home Tour may be ordered by phone at (949) 718-3554.