Brookhaven once again put out the welcome mat and opened doorsSaturday thanks to the hard work of many Tour of Homes organizers,volunteers and home owners.

This year’s tour was a huge success as possibly the largestnumber of visitors ever came for the 14th annual event. Anestimated 1,200 visitors took part in “Taking the Town byStorm.”

All along Storm Avenue, smiles were evident and spirits werehigh as homeowners mingled with guests. From Civil War-era duelre-enactments to a free lemonade stand, there were plenty of otheractivities to pique visitors’ interests when they were not insidethe homes.

An interesting aspect of this year’s tour was that all the homesand gardens were on one street. Several people commented about howbeing able to walk from home to home made the tour moreenjoyable.

Brookhaven has a many streets with beautiful homes that would beideal for showcase during future tours. It would be good if thetrend begun Saturday could continue in the years ahead.

The role homeowners play in the tour cannot be understated. Asone chamber official said, without them, the tour would not bepossible.

The hours of hard work and preparation the homeowners put intogetting ready for the tour was clear Saturday. Their efforts andthose of organizers and volunteers combined to make this year’sTour of Homes another wonderful achievement.