San Clemente Home Tour Returns to Showcase Homes, Support Public Schools

By Angélica Escobar

The doors to some of San Clemente’s most distinctive homes will open this fall as the San Clemente Home Tour returns for its second year, bringing architecture, design and local history together to raise money for the city’s public schools.

Set for Oct. 23, the annual fundraiser will feature at least five homes across San Clemente, with organizers working to potentially add a sixth. Rather than following a single theme, the tour is curated to showcase a range of architectural styles, interior designs and stories reflective of living in the “Spanish Village by the Sea.”

“We don’t have themes for the houses every year, because it’s sort of unpredictable about what we’re going to get,” said Sharon Williams, board president, home curation chair and magazine chair. “But what I do look for is diversity in the houses across the board, whether it’s design style, architectural style, size, even — you know — diversity in every which way you can think about it.”

Organizers are keeping most details about the participating properties under wraps until just before the event. Ticket holders will receive a map ahead of the tour, while photographs and additional information about the homes will be unveiled in a keepsake magazine distributed on the day of the event.

Williams said each of this year’s homes offers something different, whether through its architecture, art, history or approach to design.

One of the confirmed properties is an Ole Hanson home, connecting this year’s tour to San Clemente’s architectural history.

Williams said selecting homes is not necessarily about finding the newest, largest or most expensive properties. Instead, she looks for homes with something compelling that visitors may not encounter elsewhere.

“I really want it to be diverse and special, and have every house have some sort of significance in San Clemente,” Williams said

That can mean a new build with an unusual layout, a historic property, distinctive artwork or an interior that breaks away from more familiar design trends.

“We have some really beautiful modern houses, but we have beautiful historic houses,” Williams said. “We even have some little cottage houses, and they’re all interesting and they all tell their own story of life and living in homes in San Clemente, because it’s very diverse here.”

The connection between homes and education has also become part of the story organizers hope to tell through the fundraiser.

Vika Boyko, marketing communications chair, said that after recently moving to San Clemente, she began researching the city’s history and became interested in the connection between the home tour and the community’s schools.

For children, Boyko said, classrooms can become a second home because of how much time students spend at school. She also pointed to San Clemente’s early educational history and the community’s first classroom being housed in a home.

That connection, organizers said, makes a home tour benefiting public education particularly fitting for San Clemente.

Last year’s inaugural tour raised approximately $135,000, according to Williams. After event expenses, organizers distributed $75,000 in net proceeds among San Clemente public schools, with funding allocated based on each school’s student population.

San Clemente High School, which has the largest student population, received $24,500.

Organizers are now collecting information from the schools to develop an impact report detailing how those funds were used. Williams said schools have put the funding toward different needs, and the organization plans to produce an impact report following each tour as schools have time to use their allocations.

This year, Williams said one of the primary goals is to build on the inaugural event while refining the planning process and reducing expenses so a larger portion of the money raised can ultimately reach schools.

“We are doing this to raise money,” Williams said. “We are not doing this to spend money. We are doing this to raise our profits, to increase what we are able to give to the schools every single year.”

The tour itself will extend beyond visiting homes.

Attendees will begin the day at Casino San Clemente, where they can check in, grab a light breakfast and coffee, browse a boutique featuring local artisan businesses and pick up the tour’s keepsake magazine and map.

From there, guests can make their way through the participating homes in an open-house-style format. Docents will be stationed throughout the properties to guide attendees, answer questions and help manage the flow of visitors.

Beginning at 11 a.m., attendees can return to the Casino for lunch, music and the boutique before heading back out to continue touring homes.

The day will conclude with an after-party beginning at 3 p.m. at the Sonance Studio. Williams said this year’s after-party will expand on the inaugural event, with food and drink booths, music and immersive audio experiences included with admission.

Sonance and Shannon Kate Designs are returning as presenting sponsors after supporting the inaugural event. Shannon Kate Designs will also host a pre-event VIP party for donors and sponsors.

For Boyko, growing the tour in its second year means not only increasing attendance, but also increasing awareness of what the fundraiser contributes to the community.

“The more people know about it, the more they understand what it does to the community,” Boyko said. “The more sponsors you attract, because when sponsors know that 1,000 people are going, they will be more likely to sponsor and donate money. Plus, they know that it’s going to a good cause.”

Williams said building a successful annual event also means maintaining relationships with participating homeowners, sponsors and attendees while ensuring the experience gives people a reason to return.

“The more tickets we sell, the more profit we get to give out to the schools,” Williams said. “So, we want to keep doing a really good job and making sure the experience is really great.”

Tickets for the Oct. 23 San Clemente Home Tour are $135.23 (including fees) and on sale at schometour.org.

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