Lofty Pursuits - Showcase Tour of Historical Downtown Hot Springs Homes December 11, 2004

Six downtown Hot Springs homeowners open their Holiday decorated homes to benefit Hot Springs Music Festival.

(PRWEB) December 8, 2004 -- Hot Springs Music Festivals second annual benefit home tour returns this season with a holiday twist. Historic Downtown Districts romantic history comes alive when six loft homes share their holiday splendor. Homes on this years tour include those of Kathy McFarland, Davis Tillman, Chris and Cyndi Cullum, Joseph Holland, Chris Baber and Winston Westerman, as well as Terry Millers newly-restored Abelard Inn Bed & Breakfast. Gourmet taste treats, courtesy of The Savory Pantry, will be provided. Participants may tour at their own pace, and also will enjoy a post-tour cocoa, cookies and caroling" party with prizes at the Majestic Hotel. Proceeds will benefit the Hot Springs Music Festival Apprentice Scholarship Fund.

Tax-deductible tickets, $45, are limited to the first 200 reservations, and may be reserved by creby credit card at 501-623-4763.

One-of-a-kind in concept and execution, the Hot Springs Music Festival brings together over 250 international musicians each June in the historic spa resort of Hot Springs National Park.The Festival pairs world-class mentor musicians from major orchestras, chamber ensembles and conservatory faculties with especially talented pre-professional apprentices; the two groups play "side by side" in orchestral, chamber, solo recital, vocal, choral and chamber opera repertoire. For two weeks, these musicians form a unique community, presenting 20 concerts and over 250 open rehearsals for music lovers from across the globe.

Over 20,000 people attended Festival events last year, and an additional 6.4 million heard its concerts on nationwide radio broadcasts. As the second edition of The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America noted, "the Hot Springs Music Festival has carved out a place on the nation's classical music map." Serious in focus but casual in atmosphere, the Festival events take place in a variety of non-traditional venues including historic buildings, art galleries, hotel ballrooms, churches and open-air spaces. Before and after concerts, audience members and musicians mingle in Hot Springs' eclectic restaurants and cafes, hike the National Park's trails, and relax in the hot mineral water baths that gave the city its name.

Situated in the magnificent Ouachita mountains of central Arkansas, Hot Springs National Park has been designated a "City of the Arts." In addition to the Hot Springs Music Festival, its beautifully restored Historic Downtown District is home to nearly 30 fine art galleries, a monthly gallery walk, a world-class documentary film festival and over 200 resident visual and performing artists.In addition to its usual concert, open rehearsal and radio broadcast activities, the 1999 Hot Springs Music Festival broke important new ground with its recording of three compact discs for worldwide distribution on the Naxos/Marco Polo label, followed by an additional disc of music by American Composer, Jerome Moross, recorded during the 2000 season. The 1999 Festival was also the focus of an hour long Public Broadcasting Service documentary, "The Sound of Dreams," which made its debut in February 2001, and continues to be broadcast nationwide.

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