Homes open doors for 41st annual Pilgrimage
Published 9:36 pm Friday, March 18, 2016
Junior Hostesses Kinsley Mott, 16; Caitlyn Piper, 13; and Mary Claire White, 19, at the Smith-Walker home on Friday, March 18.
A special selection of homes, churches, museums and galleries have opened their doors for the 41st annual Historic Selma Pilgrimage, which started Friday and goes through this weekend.
This year is the first time Louise Walker has shown her home, the Smith-Walker House on Church Street. Although the home has been shown before, this is the first time it has been shown during Walker’s three years of ownership.
“I’m pleased to do what I can for the community. You work real hard to get it pretty, and you don’t want it to just sit in there and not be appreciated,” she said.
The home was built in 1903 and was open for only Friday between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Tour guide Ruth Shaw tells Paul Bolig about the Smith-Walker home on Friday
Chamber of Commerce executive director Sheryl Smedley said people should take advantage of the pilgrimage to view the inside of the historic homes.
“These are private homes being opened to view and who knows when they’ll do it again,” she said.
Many homes and churches will be open for Saturday for tours including the c. 1839 Parkman-Smitherman House on Parkman Avenue and the c. 1880 Woolsey House on Dallas Avenue. Other famous Selma buildings on the tour include Sturdivant Hall, Brown Chapel AME and others. Tickets are available Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Vaughan Smitherman Museum, 109 Union St.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host a luncheon from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and window tours. Tickets for lunch are $12 to dine in or $13 to carry out.
Old Live Ghost Walk Tours will be held at Live Oak Cemetery. The first tour will be at 5:30 p.m. and the second tour at 6:30 p.m.
The ArtsRevive Juried Show “Roots and Wings” will be from open from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at 9 Lauderdale Street.
A Selma Art Guild Show will be from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 508 Selma Ave. From 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., the guild will be hosting its annual Wet Paint Sale.
Shawn and Kate Littleton said they have never been in the south until Shawn was transferred to the Airforce base in Montgomery.
“We try to experience all the local culture at each duty station that we have. We heard the pilgrimage was one of the most exciting things in the region to do. So we saved this weekend to experience Selma,” Shawn said.
Kate said they are planning to visit Kenan’s Mill as well as more homes and churches Saturday.
“We visit churches all over the world. It’s one of the things we like to do,” she said.
