Go behind closed doors as Marietta puts on its holiday finery for the 30th Annual Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour. What does it take to produce the tour? More than 3,000 ornaments, thousands of magnolia leaves, 500-plus strands of lights and over 100 poinsettias are used in decorating the houses. A half a dozen or more hotel rooms are booked for homeowners for the event weekend to clear the way for the thousands of visitors who will ooh and ah over vintage, traditional and highly artistic holiday schemes. Dozens of plastic mats are stashed in closets in case of inclement weather and scads of booties are stowed in attics to cover shoes for treading on floors that need extra TLC. Not to mention over 500 volunteers to staff the event.

The Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour features six private historic homes in the Kennesaw Avenue Historic District, lovingly restored, filled with antique collections and decorated for the season. Homeowners invite you inside for a unique opportunity to discover how they incorporate these historic treasures into their everyday lives. Along the route, many of Marietta’s historic public buildings are decorated and open for touring.

The event activities begin on Friday evening, December 2nd when the Marietta Pilgrimage presents “The Marietta Pilgrimage Gala.” a glamorous black-tie party at Traton Homes. The home tours kick-off on Saturday, December 3with the Day Tour offered from 9:00am – 6:00pm and a Candlelight Tour featuring three of the tour homes from 7:00pm – 9:30pm Saturday evening. The Day Tour will resume on Sunday, December 4 from 10:00am – 6:00pm. The day tours offer shuttle service staffed with informative step-on guides. Along the tour, guests can warm up and enjoy refreshments or a light lunch at The Bistro, which will be located at the historic Marietta Educational Garden Center, c. 1852.

The Marietta Square will be transforming into a Winter Wonderland with the city center illuminated in thousands of tiny lights and lined with restaurants and specialty shops. Marietta Square’s open-air ice skating rink is returning again to Glover Park. Children aged one to ninety-two will make new memories as they skate among the twinkling lights and holiday music. Santa will light the Christmas tree in the Square on Thursday, December 1.

The Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour has been consistently named a “Top Twenty Event in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society and a “Top 100 Event in North America” by the American Bus Association.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour, call the Marietta Visitors Bureau at 770-429-1115 or visit www.mariettapilgrimage.com.

Spotlight Homes

The 30th Annual Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour will spotlight the following historic homes in the Kennesaw Avenue Historic District:

  • The Holland-Higginbotham House, c. 1886, 321 Kennesaw Ave (Candlelight)
  • The Elliott-McClure-Biggers House, 1884, 293 Kennesaw Ave (Candlelight)
  • The Beane-Atenhan-Taylor House, c. 1945, 347 Camp Street, NW
  • The Reed-Yates-Rowe House, c. 1905, 98 Maple Avenue
  • The Black-Reeves-Hogarth House, c. 1905, 84 Maple Avenue
  • The Turnbull Manor, c. 1883, 267 Kennesaw Ave (Candlelight)

Heritage Buildings Featured

  • First Presbyterian Church, c. 1854
  • St. James Episcopal Church, c. 1878
  • Old Zion Baptist Church, c. 1888
  • Root House Museum, c. 1845
  • Kennesaw House – Marietta Museum of History, c. 1845
  • Thomas Warehouse – Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum: Scarlett on the Square, c. 1880s
  • Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, c. 1909
  • Brumby Hall & Gardens, c. 1851
  • Marietta Educational Garden Center, c. 1852
  • First Baptist Church Marietta, c. 1897

Schedule & Pricing

DAY TOURS: (Shuttle bus provided)
Saturday: 9:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
$25 in advance; $30 at door
CANDLELIGHT TOUR: (3 Homes open)
Saturday: 7:00pm – 9:30pm
$20 in advance; $25 at door
COMBINATION TICKET: (tour 3 houses at day and 3 at night)
$30 in advance; $35 at door
GROUP RATES AVAILABLE