Balboa Island tour Sunday will showcase 6 decorated homes and fire station

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Susie Baron stands in the front courtyard of her Little Balboa Island home, which will be one of seven stops on the 21st annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour on Sunday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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A nativity scene made from clay dolls from Morelia, Mexico, will be on display at Susie and Rudy Baron’s house during the 21st annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour on Sunday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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This nativity scene at Susie and Rudy Baron’s house is made of pieces of driftwood. It will be on display during Sunday’s Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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Susie Baron arranges some of her favorite holiday decorations in preparation for the 21st annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour on Sunday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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The dining room at Susie and Rudy Baron’s home, which will be part of the Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour on Sunday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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A bundled-up Eskimo Santa is one of the items at Susie and Rudy Baron’s home, which will be on display in the 21st annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour on Sunday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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A Christmas ornament of Peter Pan is one of the items at Susie and Rudy Baron’s home on Little Balboa Island, which will be part of Sunday’s Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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Susie and Rudy Baron’s cottage kitchen will be on display during the 21st annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour on Sunday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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Tiles from Mexico showing a kitchen scene will be on display at Susie and Rudy Baron’s home during the 21st annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour on Sunday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

By Kathleen Luppi

Los Angeles Times

Dec. 7, 2017 5:20 PM PT

The Balboa Island Improvement Assn. will present its 21st annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, giving the public a chance to view a variety of decorated houses and, for the first time, Newport Beach Fire Station No. 4, a Balboa Island fixture at the corner of Marine and Park avenues.

The six homes on the tour include the residence of Susie and Rudy Baron at 323 E. Bay Front on Little Balboa Island.

The Barons have owned the 1937 cottage for 50 years and raised their three children there.

“It’s a little Christmas house,” Susie Baron said as she stood before a Christmas tree embellished with ornaments, bows and lighting.

Gail Vasterling, who has lived on Balboa Island for 33 years and handles publicity for the tour, said she and the tour committee begin asking homeowners toward the end of December if they’re interested in showcasing their dwellings for the next year’s tour.

Baron said it’s special for her to feature her holiday treasures, which include a Santa Claus collection, handmade seashell trees, festive paintings by local artist Timree Gold and a handpainted nativity she found in Morelia, Mexico.

The Barons bought their three-bedroom cottage from its original owners, who owned and operated orange groves and rented the house during summers to actors Ray Milland and Dorothy Lamour.

The holiday home tour is the major annual fundraising event for the Balboa Island Improvement Assn., which funds the holiday decorations on Marine Avenue and yearly parades, Vasterling said.

Tour tickets may be purchased for $35 at Balboa Island stores Island Home, Persimmon Tree, Toss and Etc. Etc. Etc., all on Marine Avenue, or online at balboaislandnb.org.