2024
Parade of Homes rebounds with more inventory, return of the Chefs
11 homes and six chefs featured in this year’s tour
Megan Savely, right, of Frost Me Sweet Bakery & Bistro in Richland is one of the six chefs featured in this year's Chefs on Parade, which runs 5-9 p.m. Sept. 12. This file photo is from the 2019 Chefs event.
Courtesy HBA Tri-CitiesThe Tri-Cities’ Parade of Homes event has always been popular among those dreaming of their future home.
It offers inspiration and sparks imagination, with hundreds buying tickets to wander through the newly built homes. Visitors love to peek inside cabinets and closets, run fingertips over marble countertops, and point out the views, decor or unique design elements that catch their eye.
This year the Parade features 11 homes from nine builders and the return of the popular Chefs on Parade.
“We’re excited that the Parade continues to rebound post-Covid in our community, where the shortage of homes continues to challenge us all,” said Jason Wilkinson, president of the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities, in a welcome message included in the 2024 Parade of Home magazine.
This year’s event highlights “starter homes all the way to dream homes,” said Jeff Losey, executive director of HBA Tri-Cities.
“It’s not a Street of Dreams. It’s we have homes in all different ranges. Everybody is in a different position on what they can afford and what they’re willing to afford,” he said. “It’s more representative of the Tri-Cities market and across all the price spectrums.”
Losey said Parade provides a kickoff for what “the national economists are saying is a pretty good run for housing over the next five years – barring the election and any unforeseen circumstances.”
“Interest rates are lowering and expected to continue to lower throughout the end of the year. That is going to be the theme going into 2025,” he said.
Pandemic upends Parade
To the consternation of organizers and visitors alike, the pandemic upended the popular event in 2020.
Virtual 3-D tours and photo galleries replaced the in-home tours, and the event was shortened to one three-day weekend instead of being spread out over two weekends plus a weekday.
Supply chain woes plagued builders, curtailing their inventory. The need for housing never went away though, Losey said.
“There’s still a pent-up demand at the end of the day in Tri-Cities,” Losey said.
In its heyday, Parade featured 40 homes (that was the high-water mark in 2004) but feedback from visitors prompted organizers to scale the event back to 14 to 19 homes. Today, organizers cap it at 20.
In 2019, the last pre-pandemic Parade, there were 14 homes.
In 2020, it was a virtual tour only for all eight homes.
In 2021, there were two homes and two virtual home tours.
in 2022, there were four homes and two virtual home tours.
In 2023, there were eight homes and one virtual home tour.
Return of the Chefs
The 2024 Parade returns to a five-day run — 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 7-8 and 14-15, and 1-7 p.m. Sept. 11.
The return of Chefs on Parade, a sold-out event in years past and again this year, runs 5-9 p.m. Sept. 12, featuring six Tri-City chefs preparing samples of their signature dishes in six Parade homes.
The Chefs event, which began in 2011, previously had featured 10 to 14 chefs at a time.
“We are super excited to get Chefs back again,” Losey said, adding that the Chefs event allows guests an opportunity to visit the Parade homes after dark, which can be special.
Four of the locations will feature samples from local wineries and breweries. Chefs on Parade is a 21-and-older event.
Chefs on Parade features:
- Megan and Jason Savely of Frost Me Sweet Bakery & Bistro in Richland.
Adam Carr of Monterosso’s Italian Restaurant in Richland.
Cara Nokes of Hot Mess Burgers & Fries in Kennewick.
Joshua Krueger of The Social in Richland.
- Tanner Guy and Andrew Chilton of Doggie Style in Richland.
- Arturo Rodriguez of Taqueria Chilisco of Kennewick.
Ticket information
Chefs on Parade is sold out.
Parade of Home tickets are on sale for $10 each on Sept. 2 at Tri-City Circle K stores.
Visitors to the homes and to the Chefs event must kick off their shoes and don booties to enter the homes on display. Organizers ask guests to keep their booties to reuse at each home.
Tour all the Parade homes to collect a stamp to be eligible to win a $2,500 closet package from All City Closet Co.
Touring all the homes also allows visitors to cast a vote for their favorite, called the People’s Choice award. Builders and tradespeople from outside the area will tour the homes with a checklist to bestow awards in various other categories, including best landscape, interior design and workmanship, among others. The awards are unveiled Sept. 6 at the HBA’s Parade of Homes Appreciation Night Dinner & Awards Ceremony.
The Parade of Homes magazine is available with ticket purchase, and will be inserted into the September edition of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business and offers detailed information about the tour, including home locations. The magazine also will be available digitally on Sept. 2 at paradeofhomestricities.com.
