Whether you call Fourth Ward home or not, you will want to make it there for the 39th annual Fourth Ward Holiday Home Tour taking place Dec. 2-4.

Friends of the Fourth Ward is putting on the 3-day that gives ticket holders access to a number of private homes decked out in all their holiday grandeur.

Tickets for the self-guided walking tour cost $30 for all 3 days, though ticket holders may only visit each tour stop or location once. There will be choirs and hand bell ensembles performing throughout the weekend on neighborhood porches.

Ticketholders will also receive wine, food and beer samples and complimentary horse and carriage rides throughout the neighborhood. Some of the vendors providing drinks and food tastings are Rock Bottom Brewery, The Asbury, Mert’s Heart & Soul and Assorted Table.

Tour hours are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m Dec. 2 & 3 and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 4.

Tickets may be purchased online or on location at the corner of 9th and Poplar streets. A limited number of paper tickets are available at Alexander Michael’s and Park Road Books.

This annual tour is the largest fund-raiser for the Fourth Ward neighborhood. Monies raised go toward neighborhood improvements such as better lighting for the neighborhood and park, crosswalks and money for bags for dog walkers to keep the neighborhood clean, among other community supplies and support.

The gorgeous kitchen inside this David Weekley-built Avignon home on this year’s Parade of Homes tour.

Get ready to window shop your way through some of the Greater Charlotte area’s newest and nicest homes this weekend!

The annual Parade of Homes begins Oct. 7 and lasts 2 more weekends through Oct. 23.

Whether you are in the market for a new home, a building site or just design ideas for a renovation, Parade of Homes is free and it’s fun.

This year’s parade includes more than 75 homes, including model homes, homes for sale and communities with available building sites.

The Parade of Homes web site offers a tool that allows you to choose the homes you want to see and then map your tour route. The parade can take you all the way from Lake Wylie to Lake Norman!

Twenty builders are represented on this year’s tour, including Alan Simonini Homes, Bonterra Builders, David Weekley, Saussy Burbank and Toll Brothers.

Parade home prices range from $200,000 to more than $1 million.

Some of the in-town and SouthPark neighborhoods on the tour include: Central Living at Iverson, Cherry, Eastover City Homes, Churchill Commons, Channing Hall and Avignon.

For a complete map of homes and list of homes on the tour, see the Parade of Homes Charlotte site. The tour is hosted by the Home Builders Association of Greater Charlotte.

Tour dates are as follows: Oct. 7-9, 14-16 and 21-23. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

CycleBar Midtown CLT is at 339 S. Kings Drive and will hold its grand opening Sept. 5. A soft opening or “CycleBlast” will run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 4 and offer potential customers complimentary cycle classes.

There are currently 33 CycleBar franchises nationwide and more than 50 others planned to open in 2016, according to the CycleBar web site.

According to the CycleBar site, CycleBar riders are led through a 50-minute ride in a “concert-like atmosphere” that includes lights, video graphics and music. There are different levels and types of classes, including themed rides. The studio provides riding shoes, water and snacks as well as lockers, robes and showers.

Charlotteans Lisa and Marc Palmer will operate the Kings Drive CycleBar location as well as 2 other locations the couple is planning, according to a Charlotte Business Journal report. A CycleBar is also planned for the new Waverly mixed-use development in South Charlotte.

Kings Square, located at the corner of South Kings Drive and Luther Street, underwent a major renovation after being purchased by MPV Properties earlier in the year. The plaza has nearly 9,000 square feet of retail space.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Get ready…  this weekend Myers Park will hold its largest community yard sale yet!  Residents of Sterling Road will fill the street with goodies at bargain prices from 7-11 AM this Saturday!  The yard sale will happen rain or shine unless there is a huge storm.  If it storms, it will be held on Sunday.  There will be balloons at participating houses.  Kick off fall by strolling down the tree-lined streets of Myers Park hunting for fabulous finds.