The home being sold in support of the 2013 Red Deer Festival of Trees comes with the stamp of approval of one of Canada’s most famous handymen.
Mike Holmes is known for being quite the stickler when it comes to home construction, a trait he has exhibited for more than a decade on television. The newly-built “Trade-itional Holiday Home” at 3 Veronica Close in Vanier Woods East is a “Holmes Approved Home” that the home improvement guru is standing behind and, on Thursday, stood in at the home’s unveiling.
“I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again: you build your house from the outside-in and not the inside-out, you will have a better home. The look (here) is the inside-out, but we started this house from the outside-in,” said Holmes.
The home, built by Avalon Central Alberta, is on the market for $990,000. Avalon will be donating all profits from the sale of the house back to the Festival of Trees campaign.
This is the third time that a home is being sold in support of the festival campaign. Before that, the homes were auctioned off.
Avalon has already committed $140,000 to the 20th version of the Red Deer Festival of Trees. The campaign’s goal is to surpass the $1.225 million raised in 2012.
Money raised in 2013 will go towards purchasing and installing a new imaging unit in the operating room at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. The unit will be used for numerous urological procedures, including helping to determine causes of urinary tract infections and detecting cancers.
“When the urologist is doing some of the sterile procedures, trying to determine causes of infections, or to locate and extract a stone that is causing someone a significant amount of grief, this equipment will greatly assist him,” said Sandy Duckett, diagnostic imaging manager at the hospital.
She said the new technology, in the form of a flat panel detector, will be the first of its kind in Alberta Health Services, and will reduce the radiation exposure for patients undergoing treatment.
Tickets go on sale for festival events on Monday. This year’s schedule is much the same as it was in 2012, with events such as the Festival of Wines, Mistletoe Magic father-daughter evening, and Breakfast with Santa among the highlights.
The first night of events will be on Nov. 16 with the Festival Lights the Night show and the Santa Claus Parade downtown. Then, from Nov. 20 to 25, there will be events every day and public viewing at Westerner Park from Friday to Sunday of 70 decorated trees.
Festival co-chair Nova Bais said the 2013 edition is shaping up well with new donors and new sponsorships already on board.
“We’re way ahead of where we were last year,” she said.
More volunteers are sought for the festival. For more information or to volunteer, visit www.reddeerfestivaloftrees.ca or call 403-343-4773.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster online, can be charged by phone at 1-855-985-5000 or purchased in person at the Centrium during business hours Monday to Saturday.
The two-storey home is nearly 4,000 square feet and includes four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms. Certain insulation and mould-resistant features allow it to receive the Holmes Approved Homes designation.
Last year, Holmes partnered with Avalon on a $15,000 playhouse that was auctioned off in support of the festival.
The home is open for viewing from 2 to 8 p.m., Monday through Wednesday and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
mfish@www.reddeeradvocate.com