Beautiful homes through popular North Augusta neighborhoods will be featured in the 35th annual Christmas Tour of Homes.
Sponsored by Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, the event is scheduled for Dec. 1 and 2. The tour will be from 5:30 until 9:30 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Five homes will be featured on the 2023 Christmas tour including the home of Fletcher and Ashley Dickert. Located in The Colony Subdivision, the home is a traditional Georgian style home built in 1983 for Dr. and Mrs. Randy Cooper.
The Dickerts have updated and decorated their home with their own casual and comfortable living style while still honoring the classical Georgian architectural design, according to a news release. With its relatively open and flowing floor plan for the time in which the home was built, their home makes for the perfect spot for gatherings and celebrations.
Nothing takes place in their home without it centering around the kitchen with its marble flooring, coffered ceilings, traditional style cabinetry, and the large 10-foot walnut island with bar seating. Their expansive back porch with outdoor living areas is a great place to gather with friends to watch college football or to enjoy family meals. Christmas is the Dickerts’ favorite time of the year and Ashley Dickert’s favorite season to decorate.
The home of Nathan and Sharon McGowan is a neoclassical home inspired by a small magazine photo of an Italian house with ample porch space, stucco exterior, and high ceilings, the release continued.
One feature some may notice when entering the foyer is the leaded glass transom window welcoming guests into the living area. One of the first homes built in Hammond’s Ferry, it has become known as the “courtyard house” for its walled courtyard with stone floor and outdoor fireplace, the news release said.
The walk-in attic was converted to become their son’s “treehouse” and features repurposed lumber and actual tree-trunks recovered from the Greenway following the ice storm of 2014. The owners’ favorite part of the house is the front porch where they sit enjoying conversation with passing friends and neighbors. Having been born and raised in Augusta, the McGowans both had mixed feelings about moving “across the river.” However, they said they absolutely love living in North Augusta with its small-town charm, shops, and restaurants within walking distance to the river.
Also included on the tour are the homes of Josh and Whitney Boykin and Steve and Ashley James on Delaughter Drive, and the home of Matt and Dawn Schlachter on Sweetwater Creek Drive. In addition to these five stops, guests are invited to visit the Arts and Heritage Center’s Galleries and Gift Shop for light refreshments and holiday music.
Members of the North Augusta Beta Sigma Phi chapter agreed in 1988 that the Christmas Tour of Homes
event would be not only a profitable fundraiser for North Augusta High School student
scholarships but also an enjoyable occasion for the community and out-of-town visitors, the news release said.
Beta Sigma Phi uses most of the proceeds from the tour to fund scholarships to North
Augusta High School students with a contribution also to the Arts and Heritage Center. Since
beginning the tour, Xi Beta Gamma has given approximately $207,000 to high school graduates
to further their education.
Everyone on the tour (including babies) must have a ticket. Tickets are available in advance at
the Arts and Heritage Center, CommuniGraphics, and Parks Pharmacy in North Augusta;
Consign Design in Martinez; and Plum Pudding in Aiken. Advance tickets are $25. Tickets are available online at natourofhomes.org. They are $28 which includes a $3 convenience fee..
Tickets are $30 on tour days and may be purchased at any stop. Cash or check is required for ticket
purchases at businesses and tour stops.
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