We have some good news and some bad news.
The bad news is The Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake regretfully announces the cancellation of the 2020 Holiday House Tour.
The good news is, we have a fabulous tour already in the works for next year! So, book the dates:
December 3 & 4, 2021!
Each year, all the proceeds from the Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Holiday House Tour are donated to support crucial local and international charitable programs.
Watch our social media profiles for a surprise replacement fundraiser and ticket giveaway, the #RotaryHolidayHouseChallenge, starting in early November 2020!!
Check out our video with some highlights for 2021!
We wish to thank everyone who has made the tour a success – attendees, sponsors, homeowners, decorators, volunteers, annual partners, and community support!
We can't wait till next year!
Join us on December 3 and 4, 2021!
#NOTLwonderland #RotaryHolidayHouseChallenge
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Holiday House Tour Cancellation Message
The Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake gave a great deal of thought to the viability of going forward with the 2020 Holiday House Tour. Cancelling the tour was an extremely difficult decision, as it is our club’s biggest fundraiser, and supports crucial local and international charitable projects.
Organizing the Holiday House Tour is an ongoing process throughout the year. In January and February, we start acquiring the homes. This year we had three homes which were definite and several other possibilities. We still needed to visit these homes to determine their suitability and discuss the logistics with the homeowners. Due to the constraints of Covid-19, we could not get into homes to review, nor did we think it appropriate to ask homeowners to allow almost 4000 people to come through their homes, even if it was months away. We could not predict how the rest of the year will unfold.
The logistics for line-ups outside the homes, small hallways within some homes, and many other safety concerns were considered. Additionally, over 300 volunteers are needed to guide our visitors and we could not ask them to be in close contact with the public.
In the same vein, asking our decorators to donate time and merchandise would have been inappropriate, given that they spend large sums of money on decorating the homes to perfection, and many have been affected financially by this crisis.
Our sponsors are mostly local businesses; again, it would be very insensitive to ask them for their sponsorship in this present Covid-19 climate.
We have no idea how long this situation will last. Even if we did postpone a decision until later in the year, to see how things develop, it would be extremely late to complete the aforementioned preparations. The brochure is usually well underway by June, with all the details in place, ready to be sent to the printers in August. Our committee agreed, we just could not do it and keep up our reputation as of one of the best Holiday House Tours in Ontario.
To make up for this decision, we promise to do everything in our power to make 2021 one of the best Holiday House Tours ever.
Join us – December 3 and 4, 2021!
Lorna Penman
Chair, Rotary Holiday House Tour
Fran Boot
Co-Chair, Rotary Holiday House Tour
Watch for updates on our social media pages.
Links are in the footnote of the page.
If you have further questions, please email us at notl.hht@gmail.com or info@niagaraonthelakerotary.ca.
Thank you!
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