Tickets for the Fourth Ward Holiday Sip & Stroll went on sale at noon Friday, Oct. 16, and Friends of Fourth Ward says the tour sells out well in advance every year, so don't wait.
This year's tour is part of the neighborhood group's 50th anniversary. It runs three evenings, Thursday, Dec. 3, Friday, Dec. 4, and Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 9 p.m. each night, through the Victorian heart of Historic Fourth Ward, decorated for the holidays.
The tour is self-guided and outdoors, a porch crawl from stop to stop, with food and cocktail tastings (while they last) and live holiday music along the way. Buy the upgraded ticket and you also go inside three private Victorian homes, each decorated by its owners for the season.
What's new: a tasting in every house
New this year, the upgraded home tour ticket includes a curated tasting at each of the three homes, on top of everything on the outdoor route. The tour page does not yet name the three houses. The group notes that the homes and stops usually change from year to year.
Four tickets, two choices
The first choice is whether you want to go inside.
- Sip & Stroll, outdoor only: $40 for a specific night, or $55 for a flex ticket good on any one of the three nights.
- Sip & Stroll plus the Holiday Home Tour: $75 for a specific night, or $100 for flex.
Flex tickets are for people who want to lock in a spot before the sellout and pick the night later. The $100 flex ticket can also be split across nights, stroll one evening and see the houses another, though each stop can be visited only once.
Tickets are sold through Eventbrite. They are non-refundable; Friends of Fourth Ward is a volunteer-run nonprofit, and the tour raises money for the neighborhood and several organizations. If the group has to cancel all or part of the tour, it will refund tickets, less Eventbrite's fees. The tour runs rain or shine.
One tip from the organizers: the Eventbrite confirmation email is confusing. To check which night and which ticket you bought, open the attached receipt or scroll to "Order Confirmation" at the bottom of the email.
Who's pouring, and who's playing
Hospitality partners offering complimentary tastings, on the route or at their own neighborhood spots: Arbol Holiday Café, Assorted Table Wine, The Asbury, Broken Shed Vodka, The Daily, Doc Porter's Distillery, The Dunhill Hotel, Fralinger Baking Company, Lythgoe Bourbon, It's Poppin' Gourmet Kettle Korn, Muddy River Distillery, Pizzeria Sapienza, Sea Level, Spaghett and Tito's Handmade Vodka. More vendors are to be announced.
Music comes from Prevox Trio, Queen City Vocals, One Voice Chorus, the Morning Star Lutheran Handbell Choir, Leisure McCorkle on Thursday and Friday, and Josh Daniel on Saturday.
Howard Hanna Allen Tate is the tour's Gold Sponsor.
On the night
Check in at the ticket booth at the corner of West 9th and North Poplar streets. Bring your ticket on paper or on your phone; it gets scanned, and you get the guidebook, which you need to take the tour. Lost the confirmation? The booth can check you in by first and last name.
You can start any time during the evening. The organizers expect this year's full route to take three to four hours.
- Parking: on-street parking is limited and first come, first served. Organizers suggest ride share or the light rail; the closest stops are 7th Street Public Market and 9th Street.
- Kids: welcome, though nothing is programmed for them. A child who can't be carried needs a ticket. No strollers inside the homes.
- Dogs: leave them home. Many of the tour houses have resident dogs who will spend the weekend watching strangers from the windows.
Friends of Fourth Ward marks its 50th anniversary with a celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Charlotte City Club. Updates on the tour, including new vendors, go out on Instagram at @fourthwardclt and on Facebook at @friendsoffourthward.