Despite gusty winds and unexpectedly wintry weather, last year’s Symphony Splendor Holiday Home Tour of Virginia Manor was very successful—so successful that the Pittsburgh Symphony Association is bringing the tour back to Virginia Manor again this year.  On Sunday, November 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. eight families will open their festively decorated homes to the public.

This year’s tour extends beyond last year’s Osage/Valleyview circle to houses on streets such as Couch Farm, Larchmont and Glenridge.  There will be no on-street parking on the tour route; however, participants can park at the lot at Manor Oak II off Cochran Road just over the border in Scott, where ticketholders will pick up their programs and others can purchase tickets. At Manor Oak II, people can board one of four free Molly’s Trolleys, which will shuttle from house to house, allowing people to start and finish wherever they like and tour however many homes they choose.

The committee, chaired by Cathy Trombetta, hopes people will want to see all the homes, as each is decorated uniquely, reflecting the owners’ diverse lifestyles and interests, and each will offer holiday entertainment. Among the choral and orchestral performers will be 28 members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, a thank you to the association that has raised more than $240,000 for the symphony since the tour debuted in 2013. A number of the symphony musicians,  some of whom are pictured on page 47, live in Mt. Lebanon.

Title sponsor for the tour is Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.  Lead sponsors are Louis Anthony and Dollar Bank.  Lamar Advertising is the media sponsor. Mt. Lebanon’s public information office and police department also have helped plan the tour.

Tax deductible tickets are $60 per person or two for $100 in advance, and $70 on the day of the tour and are on sale now at Rollier’s and Howard Hanna on Washington Road, Lee Heckman Framing and Barefoot Stitches and Gifts on Beverly Road, and Louis Anthony Jewelers in Norman Center II. Purchase tickets online at www.psa75.org or by calling 412-392-3303.