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(Thanks to Dan Wintermantel for the poster design!)

© 2004-2010 Mexican War Streets Society. All rights reserved.

Another Successful House Tour!

The 42nd Annual Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour braved threatening weather, competitive arts festivals and even the Steelers' first game...and survived! This year we welcomed more than 1,300 visitors, a bump up from last year. Revenues and expenses were in line with previous years. The financial results will be incorporated in the MWSS annual report in November.

Notable highlights included:

• The use of trained docents as guides in selected houses. This pilot program matches the practice of some of the leading tours in the country.
• An “Artists Annex” included in the House Tour booklet to highlight some of the creative talent in the neighborhood.
• A “Neighborhood Book Stall” on the midway to facilitate sales of the works of local authors.
• The use of Groupon sales to create awareness of the tour to a wider audience. A random selection of zip codes from these customers suggests that we drew from a large region through these sales.
• Groupon customers came from as far away as Zelienople, Greenburg, Ohio and Monesson.

All in all, more than 200 volunteers contributed to the success of the event. Special thanks to the House Tour committee members, who worked more than six months to organize it, and to the advertisers and sponsors who provided support - particularly our event sponsors Horn Corp. Builders, Western Pennsylvania Craftsmen’s Guild, Cedar Avenue Giant Eagle and Best Feeds. And above all, thanks to the homeowners who take such an interest in our neighborhood that they agree to open their homes to strangers.