“You wonder if you’ll run out of ideas and after 15 seasons, we’ve kept it fresh, interesting and diverse,” he said.
The series will return June 2 with the first of 17 tours including walking, biking, happy hour and children’s tours. Some are brand new and others are returning favorites with new twists.
Leading off the new offerings will be the Lenski Walk, including a happy hour tour, on July 18 for adults and a free youth tour on June 16.
It will explore the life of Springfield children’s author Lois Lenski, who has a room named for her in the Clark County Public Library and would’ve turned 125 later this year. Though her childhood home and her father’s church he preached at are long gone, it will give a sense of Lenski.
“It’s a way to embrace Lenski and her story, something a little different,” Rose said.
It will be the first youth tour in several years and the cost is free. A parent or guardian is required for participating youths.
Another new highlight will travel south for the Greek Springs happy hour tour on Aug. 22. Greek Revival architecture will be explored in Yellow Springs with a collection of such homes built in the 1840s and 1850s, a testament to the time, according to Rose.
Happy hour tours are shorter and end at a restaurant or pub during the week. Bike tours require a bike to participate.
“With happy hour tours there’s a social component where we hope participants will continue the discussion,” Rose said.
The new bike tour will be Painted Ladies, a movement from San Francisco in the 1960s in which Victorian houses were painted in multiple vivid colors. Springfield has its own ladies, including one featured in the Westcott Springfield architecture coloring book.
Other season highlights are a more in-depth downtown Victorian walking tour which had normally been a shorter happy hour tour that kicks off the season, a return to the Perrin Woods neighborhood and a members-only tour to Urbana to end the season.
Walking Tours will include Wittenberg University on July 14, The Hill on July 28, Perrin Woods North on Aug. 4 and Ferncliff Cemetery: Sacred and Symbolic on Sept.1.
Walking Tours Plus are Westchester Park on June 30 and Elmwood Place on Aug. 11.
Rounding out Happy Hour Tours are Columbia Street Cemetery on June 6 and July 11 downtown modern art on June 20 and Civic District on Aug. 8.
The other Bicycle Tour is Westcott and the Progressive Era on June 16.
Rose is thrilled people are still excited for this summer tradition.
“If you’d told me in 2003 we’d be selling out these in 15 years later I’m not sure I’d have believed but it’s remarkable,” he said. “We have people who love the history of this town and this series is about connecting with our past.”
Prices for the tours vary and some sell out quick, so interested people should register early.
For more information on times and prices for the tours, visit the Westcott Store website.
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