DAYTON, Ohio – It's been a showcase for 40 years.
- $2.3 million raised since 1979
- Show house tickets start at $25
- This years home is a 1920's Grand Tudor
The Dayton Philharmonic Volunteer Association's biennial fundraiser supports the Dayton PHIL and its youth music education programs. The Designer Show House seeks to bring Dayton's rich culture of arts and history to the Miami Valley community in a different way. All the while raising money.
Since 1979, the DPVA has raised $2.3 million.
“Our mission through our education programming is to give kids access to the performing arts and to help them understand their curriculum in a different way, to express themselves, and then to hopefully become future musicians, dancers, singers, and patrons of the arts as they grow up,” said Ruth Reveal, Director of Education for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance.
The DPVA hopes this year's show house will raise $100,000.
“The people who volunteer through DPVA love our programs and they do this because their really passionate about bringing music to children's lives.”
This year's show house is the former George and Hazel Leland home, 1375 East Siebenthaler Avenue, near Dayton's Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark.
Built in the 1920's, the Leland Family sold the home in the 1960's and it hasn't been used as a residence since. The Dayton Natural History Museum used the home for several decades, and most recently it was used by Five Rivers MetroParks as an office.
The home is now owned by David and Barbette Spitler who worked with DPVA to pick out colors and decorations. The gardens have been spruced up to welcome the public for a visit over the next several weeks.
The show house runs May 3-19. Tickets for a tour of the home and gardens cost 25 dollars. Tickets for special events range from $40-$50. Various decorators, contractors, and others who helped present the house will hold various demonstrations for the next several weeks.
