My history with the Inman Park Festival & Tour of Homes begins in 1986.

In 1986, Jeanne and I were living in a third-floor apartment at 461 North Highland Avenue. Her mother came down from Philadelphia to pay us a visit, and we took her to the festival. She loved it, and she insisted on buying us that year’s poster. It’s still my favorite.

In 2004 (I think it was), Jeanne and I had been living on Waverly Way for four years.

We agreed to have our new two-story Craftsman included in that year’s Tour of Homes. This time, it was MY mother who visited. She came to help us throughout the weekend. I have wonderful memories of our younger son and his grandmother sitting on the front porch, welcoming visitors and marking those tour tickets.

In 2013, the neighborhood put 946 Waverly Way on tour again.

Oh what fun that was. We met so many wonderful people, and who wouldn’t like to be complimented on their home?

Did you know that it’s neighborhood volunteers who organize and run the Inman Park Festival & Tour of Homes? That mulching and pruning trees in preparation for Festival is just one of hundreds of tasks that have to be completed to stage a safe and successful event? That planning for the next year’s festival will begin almost as soon as this year’s festival is in the books?

It really does feel like a privilege to live in Inman Park, and as I’ve written before on this site, that’s down to the people — not the trees, not the houses, not the amenities, not the Beltline, not the buzz, but the people.

Oh, before I wrap this up, I have to share this quote from the March 24, 2004 edition of the New York Times. “Eccentric”? What a hoot!

Two weekends later … is another popular festival in one of the city’s most attractive in-town neighborhoods, the Inman Park Spring Festival and Tour of Homes two miles east of downtown. This event, less traditional and more exuberant than the Dogwood Festival, includes a parade of silly floats and clowns, a tour of some of the city’s most eccentric homes, and live entertainment and dance.

*Thanks go to former Tree Watch co-chair Richard Westrick for creating a photo gallery of posters from past festivals. You can view Richard’s album here.

**Volunteer for Festival here.