Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea attendees walk through a garden that was opened to the public at last year’s event. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The 26th annual Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea will be held in Shepherdstown on May 17 and 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Held rain or shine, the event will once again serve as a fundraiser for the Shepherdstown Community Club (SCC), which maintains two historic properties in Shepherdstown — the War Memorial Building, located at 102 East German Street, and Morgan’s Grove Park, located at 4198 Kearneysville Pike.

“This and the Legendary Book Sale are our two main fundraisers every year,” said SCC member Patricia Parrish. “We’re always trying to increase the attendance, because it is a fundraising event for the Shepherdstown Community Club. Last year, we had over 700 people participate in the Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea.”

Parrish is one of the dozens of volunteers helping to bring the much-anticipated annual event to life. Along with her, many other SCC and community members are working together to bring the much-anticipated annual event to life, under the guidance of Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea coordinator Errika Best and garden tour organizer James “Pug” Puglisi.

“It takes many volunteers to put this event together,” Parrish said.

Plein air paintings, like these ones, will be created for the second year-in-a-row at the 26th annual Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

She noted that members of a local Girl Scout troop will, once again, be volunteering their time to man the tea held in the War Memorial Building, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on each day of the event.

“As is tradition, the event will include a formal tea service, featuring homemade tea sandwiches, cookies and sweets prepared by local chefs and volunteers,” Parrish said.

Another continuing tradition with this year’s event, according to Parrish, was the change in its location.

“In 2023, James Puglisi divided up the town into three quadrants, in an effort to create a more walkable tour and to rotate the gardens on tour,” Parrish said, of the self-guided tour. “This year, the quadrant will be on the east end of town. It will feature a number of homes, including those in Shepherd Village. We’re all very excited!”

This quadrant is the one with the greatest distance from the War Memorial Building and the tea being held there, Parrish said. With this and the wellbeing of tour-goers in mind, the organizers have plans to set up at least one water station along the tour, located in The Church at 304 East German Street.

She noted that one exciting new addition to last year’s event will be returning this year — the presence of plein air painters working in some of the gardens.

“It’s a nice enhancement to the event,” Parrish said, noting The Bridge Gallery owner Kathryn Burns organizes the painters and the sale of their paintings at the end of the weekend. “It encourages tour-goers to look at the gardens and the historic homes around them in a different way.”

Tickets to the Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea cost $30 per-person, which will include one tea service and access to all gardens throughout the weekend. They may be purchased online, at https://www.shepherdstowncommunityclub.org/store/p/back-alley-garden-tour-and-tea-may-17th-and-18th. They may also be purchased in-advance at the Shepherdstown Farmers Market and several Shepherdstown businesses, including Dogwood General Store, German Street Marketplace Coffee & Candlery, Four Seasons Books, Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery, Grapes & Grains Gourmet and Dickinson & Wait Craft Gallery.

A limited number of donor level tickets are available for purchase on SCC’s website. These tickets cost $100 per-person and will include all of the perks of the general admission tickets, along with an additional admission to the Donor Level Garden Party in the garden of a home that will be on the tour, on May 16.