Anniversaries are hard. [Borscht Belt comedian voice] Just ask my wife, hey-o!

No but seriously folks, you’ve been a terrific crowd, try the veal, and don’t forget to tip your waitresses, anniversaries of any kind bring with them pressure to honor the past and face the future. Ellen Jenkins hopes to do both this coming December at the 60th running of the Church Hill Association’s annual Holiday House Tour—and she’s looking to the neighborhood for help.

“We've got seven so far,” she told The Lookout in a phone interview earlier this week, referring to the number of homeowners who have already committed to throw open their doors to the masses of ticket-holding history buffs, holiday decor fans, and rank-and-file lookie-loos on this year’s tour, which is slated for Sunday, December 6th. “We've got we've got one an eighth one that Wendy [Parent-Johnson, another CHA volunteer] said is definitely doing it… so we really have eight houses.”

Four more homeowners are still deliberating, Jenkins added. As usual, Richmond Fire Department’s Station 1 on North 24th Street between East Broad and East Marshall Streets will have its trucks decked out for the event; Richmond Hill, over by the Church Hill Overlook, will be joining the route for the first time this year. As a newcomer to both the tour, and the neighborhood itself, Glue Craft Studio on E. Marshall St. at Chimborazo Blvd. is jumping right in with a make-your-own ornament bar, too.

This may sound like a lot of stops for a winter walking tour. It is! But 2025’s installation of the event featured a whopping 16 stops, so Jenkins and her fellow organizers are still on the hunt for more homeowners that might be willing to join the seasonal exhibition.

The most selfless reason an East Ender might put their abode on the map is to raise money for the CHA, a 501(c)(3) organization that distributes grants and other forms of aid to the community’s schools, parks, and other institutions in need. “The Holiday House Tour is the primary revenue driver,” said Jenkins. “Most of our other events, like the candlelight walk”—your humble Lookout editor’s single favorite festivity of the holiday season—”are completely free. The house tour allows us to do that, and to put on events for the community.”

But lest would-be hosts react scroogédly to such appeals to charity, there are also matters of ego at stake. “Whether it's a new house and you've just made it really interesting because of your art or how you decorate, or your holiday decorations, this is kind of an opportunity to show off your house,” said Jenkins, making the case for self-interested participation in the showcase. “And once you actually are doing it, it's really quite fun. If you don't know the history of your house, you can find out things because people wander into your house and say, ‘Oh, my grandmother lived here, let me tell you all this stuff about “her” house.’” Plus, participating homes receive free memberships to the CHA and tickets to the tour.

House-havers whose interest is piqued can contact Jenkins ([email protected]) to inquire about getting involved in the Holiday House Tour—even if their homes aren’t quite ready for the 60th-anniversary outing. “It helps if we have a list of houses that say ‘I'll do it next year,’” said Jenkins. “Sometimes that's just an excuse to get you out of their face, and then when you check next year, they say ‘no,” but hell, at least it gives us somewhere to start from,” she added, laughing.

Of course, not everybody has a house to show: some 60% of Richmonders rent, after all, and apartments tend to be ill-suited to accommodate troupes of tromping tourists. Those that can’t put their homes on the CHA’s map this year can still help its cause by volunteering as docents for the event—ushers that walk ticket-holders through a given house, pointing out its various charms. Docents will work in shifts on December 6th, and get complimentary tickets to the tour that they can use when they’re off-duty. [Borscht Belt comedian voice] It’s the best kind of anniversary gift, folks: a free one!

Possum Poetry is original verse written exclusively for The Lookout by Penelope Poubelle, the Lookout’s litter critter-at-large. If you spot roadside trash you’d like her to immortalize in doggerel, email a photo to [email protected]. All submissions anonymous!

Earlier this month, Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Samuel Parker published an investigation revealing that marked Richmond Police Department vehicles had been caught over 100 times running red lights at the 10 intersections at which the city has activated camera arrays. (He also recorded the brief video about his findings above.)

The 7th District is now home to 20% of all the city’s red-light cameras, and its longtime representative at City Hall, City Council President Cynthia Newbille, has touted her commitment to street safety, but she did not respond to The Lookout’s request for comment on Parker’s explosive reporting.

Courtesy of Lookout reader Deb Feichtel, the latest edition of East End Animal Friend is live now, and cute as hell:

As a reminder, East End Animal Friends is a recurring feature spotlighting the many creature companions of Church Hill and its surrounds. Fill out this form to introduce your beloved animal(s) to the neighborhood in a future edition of The Lookout!

Happenings on The Hill is a digital bulletin board for events, causes, and other items of interest to East Enders that don’t necessarily merit full editorial treatment. Got something for a future edition? Email the relevant details, links, etc. to [email protected] for consideration!

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