Christmas House Walk brings in Holiday season
WORTHINGTON — The 10th annual Hospice Cottage Christmas House Walk will take place from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at various homes throughout the city.
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WORTHINGTON — The 10th annual Hospice Cottage Christmas House Walk will take place from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at various homes throughout the city.
The four host families decorating their homes for the walk include Al and Janice Oberloh, Brian and Rhonda Larsen, Scott and Greta Kraft, and Kenton and Peggy Meier.
Karen Wasmund, a Hospice Cottage board member, came up with the house walk idea 11 years ago after seeing similar functions in other towns.
“We want so much for the cottage to stay local and to keep it open,” Wasmund said of the need for fundraisers.
When several of the homeowners suddenly backed out last year, she said they decorated the cottage and had an open house there.
Karen Caraway, a volunteer helping to coordinate the event, said people are excited to have it back this year.
“It is a wonderful experience seeing all of the homes done up for Christmas, and it’s a great help to support the Hospice Cottage,” Caraway said.
“It’s the time of year where you go in the stores and see all the Christmas stuff out, and this just puts you in the mood,” Wasmund agreed.
She said the whole idea with the house walk is to give people decorating ideas for the upcoming holiday season.
Caraway is looking forward to seeing the homes adorned with trimmings inside and out.
“On Friday we do a final walk through so the volunteers get a chance to see all the homes,” Caraway said.
One of those homes, the Larsen’s, will be radiating teal colors for a peacock-inspired theme.
“My sister-and-law and I spent a day of shopping,” Rhonda Larsen said. “We were debating between going traditional or something new and unique.”
Larsen said it’s an honor to share her home in support of a good cause.
“When we bought our house we bought it to share with everybody,” Larsen said. “We don’t need this big of a house for just the two of us.”
It takes countless volunteers to make this event possible, Wasmund said, extending her gratitude to the homeowners and businesses involved.
“If it wasn’t for them we couldn’t do it,” she said.
Explaining the importance of the Hospice Cottage, the volunteers said it’s a place where terminally ill patients can go to spend their last days.
“It’s a home atmosphere,” Wasmund said. “People don’t realize how important it is until they really need it.”
“We have a beautiful Hospice Cottage and we’re so lucky to have that in Worthington,” Caraway said. “I’ve heard so many people say how much they enjoyed being able to have their loved one there and be with them.”
“I do this in memory of my brother who died of cancer,” Wasmund said of why she’s involved with the cause. “It’s more than just the cottage, it’s the people who help and how loving they are.”
About one thousand tickets have been made in anticipation of a good turnout, Wasmund said. All proceeds benefit the Hospice Cottage. Tickets and tour information are available at the Nobles County Public Library, Hy-Vee, McCarthy’s Floral, Sterling Drug, Blooms-n-Baskets, Sanford Worthington Medical Center Gift Shop and the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce.
Daily Globe Reporter Kayla Strayer may be reached at 376-7322.
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