It’s the time of year where most people decorate their homes andopen them up to visitors, but one weekend every Christmas season,Brookhaven folks put on a show.

This year’s Tour of Homes takes visitors off the beaten path,with six locations that are a little spread out, but tourorganizers say they’re worth the trek.

“People say they’re scattered, but they’re not that scattered,”said event planner Rita Rich. “There will be signs directing themto the houses.”

The pilgrimage includes five homes, starting with the home ofStan and Sarah Foster at 727 West Chippewa St. Next on the list isGordon and Leanne Summers’ house at 214 Noble Drive, with the homeof Glyn and Tawanda Smith at 1559 Palmetto Trail Northwest.

The next stop is the residence of Dr. Shannon and RobinPatterson, at 192 Lampton Lane Northeast. The home of Kim Carter isthe final residential stop at 520 Dunn Ratcliff Road.

Tickets for the Tour of Homes are available all day Friday atthe Brookhaven Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce, and starting at2 p.m. on Saturday. They are $15 for adults and $10 for children 12and under. More information is available from the chamber at601-833-1411.

Rich said the fact that the houses on the tour are all actuallyhomes sets Brookhaven’s tour apart.

“Everyone has worked very hard, and these houses are allbeautiful and different, and all lived in by families,” Rich said.”That’s what makes our tour different. The houses in Natchez, mostof those are not lived in, ours are homes people live in. Peoplelike to see how they decorate as far as everyday living during theholiday.”

But the big show this year is the Lincoln County Historical andGenealogical Society Museum at the corner of South Church andChickasaw Streets. There will be a silent auction there to raisemoney for the museum’s development, and Rich said anyone can tourthe museum free of charge.

“It wouldn’t be necessary that they have a Tour of Homes ticketfor the museum, we welcome them because the silent auction isthere,” she said.

Genealogical Society Vice President and Silent Auction ChairmanTammie Brewer said the silent auction will open on Saturday night,but will continue on Dec. 8 during the general meeting of thehistorical society and on Dec. 12 for the general public.

“We’ve basically collected items from the public and will beauctioning them to help raise money for the museum,” Brewer said.”We’re asking everyone that wants to to come out to help us raise alittle money during the tour of homes.”

Brewer said the silent auction includes art pieces from localartists, including Tony Biagi, as well as several items that havehistorical significance.

“Our project right now is the museum, and trying to raise moneyto help where we’re having to do some small renovations and put innew heating and cooling units,” Brewer said. “All the money we makegoes to help do those things, and will help start buying shelvesand display cases.”