This year’s Point Loma Holiday Home Tour has a little bit of a twist — one that’s sure to delight the four-legged variety. The annual event that showcases a variety of stunning Peninsula homes will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5. “It’s going to be a great event,” said event organizer Cordelia Mendoza. “There are a lot of garden walks in the spring, but there aren’t a lot of holiday home tours in San Diego.” Proceeds will go to the Best Friends Animal Society, a Utah-based nonprofit whose goal is to find a home for all homeless pets. Prior to this year, All Souls Episcopal Church in Point Loma ran the event. “They abandoned it because it’s a volunteer-intense event. They kind of retired it,” Mendoza said. “To keep that tradition of a Point Loma Holiday Home Tour going, I thought it would be great to do it and have it benefit Best Friends Animal Society.” The canine theme will be prevalent throughout the tour. Helen Woodward Animal Shelter of Rancho Santa Fe will have adoptable dogs at each home and a 22-vendor marketplace at 3725 Oleander Drive will feature doggie items, vintage jewelry, home accessories and art. The event includes a pet-food drive. The walking tour features six distinct Peninsula homes, ranging in style from modern to colonial revival. Among the homes is a modern house above Sunset Cliffs that San Diego Home & Garden Magazine selected as its 2009 Home of the Year. “They’re all showstoppers in their own right,” Mendoza said. Mendoza said one of the larger houses that stands out on the tour is a 1926 English Tudor in La Playa. “It has a breathtaking yard that terraces down and has a rock slide into the swimming pool,” Mendoza said. “The outside looks just like a storybook house and then you go in and it’s fantastic.” Other highlights include a silent auction and the appearance of Jasmine the beagle. Jasmine starred on the National Geographic Channel’s “DogTown” before being adopted into a San Diego home. Tickets are $25 in advance and can be purchased online and at Cottage Antiques, 4873 Newport Ave.; Point Loma Pet Pantry, 3704 Voltaire St. #108; Walter Andersen Nursery, 3642 Enterprise St.; or Bone Appetit, 4845 Newport Ave. Tickets can also be purchased at the marketplace on the day of the event for $30. For more information, visit www.bfhometour.org. Best Friends Animal Society is online at www.bestfriends.org.
