The tour has been in play for at least 40 years," said tour coordinator Carole Shanaman when describing the Middletown Holiday Home Tour, which aims to showcase local homes, including several Victorian buildings that adorn the town. "This town was founded in 1755. It is the oldest town in Dauphin County. We even have original log cabins that were covered by (modern) siding."

This year's Middletown Holiday Home Tour is set for Saturday, Dec. 14, from noon to 8 p.m. The event will feature eight homes festively decorated for the season.

The tour will begin at The Event Place, 11 S. Union St., Middletown, which will serve as the event's hospitality center. Participants can purchase a ticket for the tour between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Ticketholders will receive a wristband, which will allow them to enter the participating private homes, as well as a brochure with information.

"We will also include a map that will help them get to each place," said Shanaman, who has been a part of the tour's organizing committee since 2007.

Also featured at The Event Place will be a display by a local artist and an opportunity for tourgoers to win gift baskets filled with items donated by Middletown-area merchants and residents.

The 2024 tour will feature familiar favorites, as well as new highlights. Visitors to the Victorian homes will see stained glass, fireplaces, ornamental trim and turrets, which are small towers like those that can be seen on a castle. "There are two new stops on the tour," said Shanaman. "We have three Victorian homes, and two of them have turrets."

One of the homes is a duplex, which features pointed spires on its roof, a feature that can be found in Moorish architecture. "It has a huge top on it. It has Moorish look, but it is considered a Queen Anne Victorian," said Shanaman. "I've never seen anything exactly like it."

Two of the Victorians can be found on the town's main road right next to one another. "That whole side of the street is filled with fabulous architecture," said Shanaman.

Another home on the tour was built in 1862 in the Italianate style, which is a type of architecture that originated in Italy in the 16th century and became popular in the United States from the 1850s to the 1880s. The home features a wraparound porch with 10 columns.

Shanaman said that some homeowners will be on hand to answer questions during the tour, while others will allow people to browse on their own.

For many, the tour has become a holiday tradition they look forward to each year. Shanaman noted that more than 100 tourgoers took part in last year's event.

A form of the tour was also offered during the pandemic. "In 2020, we had no tour, but we had a scavenger hunt where people could drive around and look at the houses and find (a particular feature of a home) for the scavenger hunt list," Shanaman recalled.

Proceeds from the tour will benefit the Middletown Area Blue Raider Foundation's JoAnn Shipkowski Scholarship, which will be presented to two special needs students graduating from the Middletown Area School District who are seeking higher education. Shipkowski, who passed way in 2019, was a longtime teacher in the Middletown Area School District, volunteered at the food pantry and was a committee member for the Middletown Holiday Home Tour.

For more information about the tour, visit www.MiddletownHolidayHomeTour.com. Individuals may also join the "Middletown Holiday Home Tour Group" on Facebook.