2008 Parade Of Homes: 6/14-22

**kurt** · 05-23-2008, 06:59 AM

The 2008 Parade of Homes, presented annually by the Building Industry Association of Okaloosa & Walton Counties, is celebrating its 29th year!

The Parade takes place June 14th through June 22nd. All the homes, which are spread from Navarre to the WaterSound, will be open from 10:00am until 6:00pm on weekends and from 1:00pm until 6:00pm on weekdays.

There will be a Parade-wide Twilight Tour on Thursday, June 19th when all homes will stay open until 8:00pm. In addition all of the Parade�s seven Featured Neighborhoods will have special Twilight Tours during the event. There is no charge for the public to tour the Parade homes.

There are two Central Sites of this year�s parade. The Okaloosa County Central Site is Heritage Plantation in Laurel Hills. Heritage Plantation is located five miles north of Crestview. For more information on Heritage Plantation, please visit www.heritageplantationfla.com. The Walton County Central Site is WaterSound in WaterSound (South Walton). WaterSound sits on 1,400 acres, bordered by the Intracoastal Waterway to the north and Lake Powell, one of the world�s rare dune lakes, to the east. For more information on WaterSound, please visit www.joe.com.

The Featured Neighborhoods for 2008 are Arbor Lake in Crestview (www.harrisconstructors.com), Fox Valley in Crestview (www.era-american.com), WaterSound West Beach in WaterSound (www.joe.com), The Verandas at Freeport in Freeport (www.verandasfreeport.com), Audubon Point in Santa Rosa Beach (www.audubonpointfl.com), Plantation at Santa Rosa in Santa Rosa Beach (www.plantationatsantarosa.com), and Hammock Bay in Freeport (www.hammockbayfreeport.com).

The event has been staged in this area every year since 1979 and is intended to give the public information on what types of features and amenities are available in homes as well as some of the trends in residential construction. For the builders, it is an opportunity to showcase their work.

Detailed information on all the homes as well as directions on how to find them, the Central Site and Featured Neighborhoods can be found in the official Parade of Homes Guide. These guides will be inserted into the Northwest Florida Daily News on Sunday June 8th. Guides will also be available at all Parade locations which will be easily found with the blue and white Parade direction signs with large arrows.

The Parade of Homes is a monumental undertaking and is made possible by several sponsors. The 2008 Silver sponsors are CHELCO, First City Bank, Gulf Power, Okaloosa Gas, Rinnai, and Vanguard Bank. Our Bronze sponsor is the 1st National Bank of Crestview. Our Patron sponsors are ADT Security Services, Flooring America: Destin & Crestview, Northwest Florida Daily News, SouthernLINC, and Vision Bank.

Don�t miss the opportunity to see 63 of the area�s most beautiful homes! For more information, visit the Building Industry Association�s website at www.biaow.org or call 850-863-5107.

**SWGB** · 05-24-2008, 02:30 PM

Love this, just an FYI, wear flipflops, slides, or some kind of easily removable shoe. Otherwise you will be relegated to wearing the dreaded blue booties of death.

**scooterbug44** · 05-24-2008, 03:47 PM

Ooooh! So excited! I love the Parade of Homes!

It's so cool to see the creativity and innovation in some homes........................and the truly horrid interior selections in others!

**SHELLY** · 05-24-2008, 07:49 PM

I LOVE a parade....especially ones with balloons, snacks and blue booties!

**TooFarTampa** · 05-24-2008, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by scooterbug44

Ooooh! So excited! I love the Parade of Homes!

It's so cool to see the creativity and innovation in some homes........................and the truly horrid interior selections in others!

You nailed the charm of these things in one sentence.

**SWGB** · 05-24-2008, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by scooterbug44

Ooooh! So excited! I love the Parade of Homes!

It's so cool to see the creativity and innovation in some homes........................and the truly horrid interior selections in others!

Remember the 16 foot cold foiled bathroom ceiling a few years ago?

It was in the same house with the metalic coated pea gravel hurled at the walls.

**beachmouse** · 05-25-2008, 12:00 AM

I can't believe we missed that one. I do remember Elvis' physician's bedroom suite though.

**rapunzel** · 05-25-2008, 08:39 AM

Oh my gosh...I want to go with you guys. I love a good running commentary on interior flourishes of a certain variety!

**scooterbug44** · 05-25-2008, 05:15 PM

It's hilarious! We should do a Sowal caravan.

One year's priceless SWGB comment "Either take away the interior designer's drugs, or get him/her some!"

**Mermaid** · 05-25-2008, 05:17 PM

I'll be relying on y'all for a full report: the good, the bad, the ugly. And photos, too. Deliver the goods!!!!

**beachmouse** · 05-25-2008, 06:34 PM

If you've got limited time and resources, head for any Sandestin homes. They tend to be the most, um, 'innovative'.

**SWGB** · 05-26-2008, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by rapunzel

Oh my gosh...I want to go with you guys. I love a good running commentary on interior flourishes of a certain variety!

Sounds like a plan, we had also discussed renting the Big Blue Party bus and taking refreshments.

Any takers?

**Geo** · 05-31-2008, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by sowalgayboi

Sounds like a plan, we had also discussed renting the Big Blue Party bus and taking refreshments.

Any takers?

Sounds like a hoot! Count me in plus 5...
Don't worry- Unlike on this board, if I am welcome to attend I won't discuss religion or politics!

**SWGB** · 06-01-2008, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by geowickey

Sounds like a hoot! Count me in plus 5...
Don't worry- Unlike on this board, if I am welcome to attend I won't discuss religion or politics!

That's fine, we actually discussed this today and decided the bus would be too much. In the interest of gas we will be car pooling.

**Miss Critter** · 06-01-2008, 09:34 PM

I'm in. I need something to tide me over until Desperate Housewives' new season begins, and I have a feeling SWGB's running commentary will do nicely.