When planning this year’s exclusive Preview Party for sponsors of the 2024 Ansley Park Tour of Homes, co-chairs Heide Grieb and Anne Herren both knew that they wanted to make what has always been a special evening even more so. Of course there would be amazing food, spirits, and company in a gorgeous home in Ansley Park, but how to up the pizzazz and add an element that no other party could boast? How to make this invite one that people would not want to pass up and raise even more money for the Ansley Park Civic Association?
The answer came to them after a suggestion from Ansley Park resident Ron Antinori and a visit to Oakland Cemetery during their October Capturing the Spirit of Oakland event. Antinori suggested that Grieb and Herren bring Ansley’s history to life at the Preview Party with actors embodying some of Ansley’s most celebrated residents. Grieb and Herren loved the idea, so then came the issue of how best to spotlight the actors and integrate these reenactments into the Preview Party. The answer to that question was trolleys.
Yes, trolleys. Those quaint and rumbling modes of transportation that were popular around the same time 120- year old Ansley Park was first conceived have now become an integral part of the Ansley Park Tour of Homes Preview Party plan.
What began as an idea to let partygoers take a spin up and down the gentle hills of Ansley Park has evolved into a 20-minute trolley excursion through the neighborhood as a part of the evening’s festivities. While on the ride, party goers will enjoy the chance to meet and interact with some of Ansley Park’s most iconic and celebrated personalities. Former residents like Margaret Mitchell, Edwin Ansley and Edward Inman will all be brought to life with help from the Alliance Theater.
Bringing Ansley’s history to life
Once they had secured the trolleys from Peachtree Trolley, Grieb and Herren enlisted another Ansley Park resident, Jen Friese, to assist with the script for the Trolley Tour. A history buff who is active in a lot of Ansley Park initiatives, Friese started learning all she could about the figures and faces who had once called Ansley Park home. The personalities and events of the last 120 years gave her a lot to work with, and the script took shape featuring six characters from the pages of Ansley Park history. Says Friese, “It was fun to give these former residents a voice! I hope our trolley riders feel like they are traveling through time while learning a bit about some of the significant people, architecture and culture that make up Ansley Park’s historic fabric.”
Riding for a good cause
With funds from the 2024 Ansley Park Tour of Homes being used to make Ansley Park more welcoming and walkable, party goers and trolley riders can enjoy themselves while knowing that they are supporting a worthwhile cause.
