Walla Walla Community Hospice takes Pond and Garden Tour virtual

WALLA WALLA—Did you think this year’s Pond & Garden Tour was canceled? In light of the pandemic and social distancing mandates, Walla Walla Community Hospice considered forgoing the 19th annual event. However, there were still some beautiful gardens to spotlight in the Walla Walla Valley

Traditionally the event features ten properties and consists of a self-guided tour, vendors, working artists, live music, Master Gardener presentations, and multiple raffles. It attracts three to four hundred attendees. This year, the event will be, like most current events, virtual. Five unique properties were selected, and professional photographs were taken by local photographers, Steven Lenz, Donna Laseter, and Vicki Zoller. Property owners were interviewed and filmed by Elkhorn Media Group. In the end, the visual materials and audio will be edited by Elkhorn into five one- minute videos.

The videos will stream on Zoom and Facebook on Saturday, September 26th, at 11 a.m. The very brief livestream will open with an introduction by WWCH staff and followed with Q&A opportunities with the property owners.

Though not their largest annual fundraiser, and more of a treasured community event, the tour does turn a net profit, which positively impacts the work of Hospice. To offset the loss of that revenue, WWCH will be asking for donations, especially from those who traditionally support this event. For every $25 donation, a name will be entered into a raffle. This year’s generously donated raffle items are a Todd Telander original oil painting (painted en plein air at one of the properties), a one-night stay in a garden suite with a private hot tub, and breakfast for two at the beautiful Inn at Blackberry Creek, and a $50 gift certificate for Wenzel’s Nursery.

The tour includes some landmark properties and range from small and casual to expansive and extensively landscaped. As always, the properties reflect the personalities and lifestyles of the property owners.

If you would like to learn more about this event, contact Brad by email at brad@wwhospice.org or by calling (509) 525-5561. If you are interested in registering for this event and in receiving an invitation to the interactive Zoom webinar, links to the Eventbrite page can be found on their website (wwhospice.org) or the Facebook event.

Walla Walla Community Hospice serves Columbia, Walla Walla, and NE Umatilla counties offering compassionate care for their patients and support for their loved ones and caretakers. In addition, WWCH offers educational opportunities surrounding end of life care and planning.