Take a tour of the lush and lavish

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- A thousand philanthropic residents will wander through a

lush garden Tuesday sipping coffee and nibbling on pastries as the Cherry

Creek babbles by before spilling into Cherry Lake.

An area known as one of the best-kept secrets of Newport will be one of

eight stops on the third annual Newport Harbor Home and Garden Tour.

Sponsored by the Newport Harbor Educational Foundation, the tour is the

most successful fund-raiser of the year for Newport Harbor High School.

Last year, the event raised more than $40,000, said Karen Wight, a

foundation member.

Proceeds from the tour all go toward academic programs for the school,

said Devon Kelly, one of the tour coordinators.

The scenic tour will wind through some of the most exquisite homes and

lavish gardens in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa from Newport Heights to

Balboa Peninsula.

One featured home sits atop the cliffs in Newport overlooking the harbor.

It was built a year ago by a couple who wanted a house to epitomize the

Californian lifestyle, Wight said.

Beginning at 11 a.m., a catered lunch compliments of Plums in Costa Mesa

will be served at one of the most unique attractions, a 1941 New England saltbox-style home that sits on a double lot above the Back Bay.

“They have maintained the integrity of its design,” Wight said,

describing the original broomstick fence and plants creeping around the

40-year-old garage. “It’s just unusual to find something that hasn’t been

torn down.”

The locations of the homes have not been made public in order to build

suspense for the event, Kelly said.

Home and garden viewers are invited to enjoy each venue at their leisure

and in any order they like between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Tickets for the tour are $40 in advance and can be purchased at Butera,

located in Westcliff Court in Newport Beach; Ann Dennis, located in

Stonemill Plaza Costa Mesa; or by calling (949) 262-5290.