This is my independent historical guide to the 2026 Blue Ridge Parade of Homes in Blue Ridge, Georgia. It isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by the organizer, Blue Ridge Mountains Parade of Homes, Inc. The 2026 tour has ended; check the organizer’s official site for future event dates and ticket details.
Past-event notice: The 2026 tour ended October 18. This page is retained as a historical guide to the October 16–18 event. Check the organizer’s official site for any future event dates and ticket details.
Your visit at a glance
- The 2026 Blue Ridge Parade of Homes ran October 16 to 18 and has ended; this guide is historical.
- 14 homes by 7 builders, from the Ellijay side of Highway 515 to the road toward Blairsville.
- Tickets are $35 per adult and cover all three days, and children under 18 are free with an adult ticket.
- Check in at SouthState Bank, 59 Orvin Lance Connector, Blue Ridge.
- Last updated October 2026.
My listing · Blue Ridge, GA
I’m proud to have this one on the Parade. It’s a custom-built home with long-range mountain views and an 8-burner Viking range, inside a gated community just minutes from downtown Blue Ridge.
Check the live listing for current availability and asking price.
Listed by Thomas Echea · Compass
The 2026 tour brings together fourteen custom homes by seven builders over three October days. The farthest stop is about 19 miles of mountain road from check-in. I’d plan it by road, because the real pleasure of this weekend is walking through finished homes, not sitting behind the wheel. Below you’ll find every home grouped by route, the shuttle stops, and an honest answer to how many you can see in a day.
I’m Thomas Echea, a Blue Ridge real estate agent and Principal of E+E Group at Compass. I’ve spent more than 25 years in real estate, I own property here, and most weeks I’m driving these same roads with buyers, sellers, and builders. The event facts below were checked against the organizer’s own pages on October 5, 2026. If anything changes, the official Parade site has the final word.
What is the Blue Ridge Parade of Homes?
It’s a three-day, self-guided tour of new custom homes in the North Georgia mountains, held the third weekend of October, when fall is settling in up here. You buy one ticket and pick up a lanyard, a magazine, and a map at check-in. Then you drive yourself from home to home, in any order and at your own pace.
It’s run by Blue Ridge Mountains Parade of Homes, Inc., a builder-led nonprofit in Ellijay that builder Keith Sumner founded. The IRS approved it as a 501(c)(3) charity in February 2019.
Ticket sales fund trade-school scholarships, and more than $1,040,000 has gone to 91 students from five local schools, so your ticket does more than open doors. Two Scholarship Houses have been built and sold, and a third is scheduled to start construction in 2026, which is why there isn’t a scholarship home on this year’s tour.
One thing to watch when you search: the parades in Asheville, North Carolina and Charlottesville, Virginia also use “Blue Ridge” in their names. This guide covers only the Georgia event, so check the location before you buy a ticket or book a room.
How much are Blue Ridge Parade of Homes tickets?
Tickets are $35 per adult as of October 6, 2026, when the $25 early price ended. One ticket admits one person 18 or older on any or all of the three days, so you don’t need a new one each day. Children under 18 are free with an adult ticket.
- Where to buy: Tickets are sold online only, by credit card, on the official ticket page. If you have trouble with the website, the staff at the check-in bank can help, but the bank itself doesn’t take cash or cards for tickets.
- Refunds: Tickets aren’t refundable unless the whole event is canceled, and the tour runs rain or shine, so I’d keep a rain jacket in the car.
- Transfers: You can pass a ticket to someone else, but they’ll need a copy of the original buyer’s ID at check-in, so it’s easiest to sort that out before the weekend.
- What you get: You’ll receive a ticket, a lanyard to display it, the Parade magazine, and a driving map.
All proceeds support the Future of Our Trades Scholarship Foundation. The full ticket and event terms are worth a quick read before you buy.
Can you see all 14 homes in one day?
It’s possible, but I wouldn’t plan on it, because the homes are open only from 10 AM to 5 PM. That’s 420 minutes, and fourteen homes in 420 minutes leaves 30 minutes per home to cover the walk-through, the drive, and four shuttle rides. You’d spend the day hurrying past the details you came to see.
Seeing every home in a single day “can be done but is a bit of a stretch,” as the organizer puts it. I’d allow 45 to 60 minutes per home, including the drive. That’s seven to nine homes a day, and it’s plenty.
It’s much easier if you think in driving groups. Every official set of directions starts at the check-in bank on Highway 515, and the homes fall into five groups. If you pick one or two of them a day, the whole weekend stays relaxed.
How should you route the Blue Ridge Mountains Parade of Homes?
Route it by road, not by home number, because the numbers don’t follow a driving order and a tour that goes 1, 2, 3 crosses the county twice. These five groups follow the official directions from check-in.
| Route group | Homes | Distance from check-in | Shuttle or gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| South on Hwy 515 toward Ellijay | #4, #3, #1, #2 | Just south of town to about 19 miles | #3 shuttle; #2 gated |
| Near town, south side | #6, #5 | About 1 mile (#6); Aska Road (#5) | #6 gated; #5 shuttle |
| North on GA-5 and Highway 2 | #7, #8, #9, #10, #11 | About 7 to 13 miles | #7 and #8 gated |
| East on Hwy 515, then GA-60 north | #12, #13 | About 7 to 9 miles | Both shuttle |
| East on Hwy 515 toward Blairsville | #14 | About 15 miles | None listed |
Each distance adds up the mileage in that home’s official directions as of October 5, 2026. Check your route in the Parade app, but keep the printed map on the seat beside you, because cell service in these mountains is uneven.
How should you plan 3 days at the Parade of Homes?
My suggestion is south on Friday, north on Saturday, and east on Sunday. That order works around the two things that can trip up a weekend: festival traffic in Ellijay and the one home, on Aska Road, that isn’t open Sunday.
- Friday, October 16: the Ellijay loop (#4, #3, #1, #2), then #6. The Georgia Apple Festival runs in Ellijay and East Ellijay on October 10 to 11 and 17 to 18, which makes Friday the quieter day for Highway 515 south, so that’s when I’d drive it. Finish at #6, about a mile from check-in, so the last drive of the day is a short one.
- Saturday, October 17: the GA-5 north loop (#7, #8, #9, #10, #11), then #5. You’ll see five homes with no shuttles, then #5 in the afternoon, because it isn’t open on Sunday, October 18.
- Sunday, October 18: GA-60 (#12, #13), then #14. You’ll visit two shuttle homes off Hardscrabble Road, then make the drive east toward Blairsville. Check-in closes at 3 PM on Sunday, so pick up your lanyard earlier in the weekend.
What if you only have Saturday?
I’d aim for six or seven homes, because you’ll want time to enjoy each stop. Check in when it opens at 8 AM, then start at #6 at 10 AM, since it’s only about a mile from the bank.
From there, take the GA-5 group. Homes #7, #8, and #11 sit within about 9 miles of the bank, and #9 adds a few more miles out Highway 2. Finish with #5 on Aska Road, because it isn’t open Sunday. That’s six homes with one shuttle, and you’ll see log, timber-frame, and mountain-modern work in a single day.
If you’d rather spend the day on the Ellijay side, swap the north loop for #4, #3, and #1. I’d build in extra drive time, though, because the apple festival brings traffic to Highway 515 that Saturday.
Which 14 homes are on the 2026 tour?
The fourteen homes range from 1,379 to 7,000 square feet, with a median near 4,395. The sizes come from the official home pages, which don’t list prices, so I’d use the table to pick the stops that match what you have in mind.
| # | Address | Builder | Bed / bath | Sq ft | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 877 Mulkey Rd | Lomonaco Homes | 4 / 4.5 | 5,000 | Ellijay |
| 2 | 232 North Mountain Ridge Dr | Lomonaco Homes | 4 / 3 full, 2 half | 4,000 | East Ellijay, gated |
| 3 | 3820 Whitepath Rd | Keith Sumner Homes | 4 / 4 | 5,408 | Ellijay, shuttle |
| 4 | 75 Patterson Ln #2 | Keith Sumner Homes | 1 / 1.5 | 1,379 | Hwy 515 |
| 5 | 78 Green Ridge Mountain Rd | Coleman Log Homes | 4 / 4.5 | 4,200 | Aska Rd, shuttle, not Sunday |
| 6 | 44 Staurolite Mountain Rd | Kevin Teague Homes | 5 / 4.5 | 4,700 | Gated; my listing |
| 7 | 7 Chief Ron Green Trl | Keith Sumner Homes | 4 / 4 full, 2 half | 4,590 | Off Hwy 2, gated |
| 8 | 560 Horatio Dr | Kevin Teague Homes | 4 / 4.5 | 3,400 | Off GA-5, gated |
| 9 | 204 Lickskillet Hollow | Coleman Log Homes | 5 / 6 | 7,000 | Off Hwy 2 |
| 10 | 187 Briar Woods Ln | Log Homes of Yellowstone | 3 / 2.5 | 2,100 | Off Hwy 2 |
| 11 | 13 Hope Dr | Nicholson Home Builders | 3 / 3.5 | 3,280 | Toward McCaysville |
| 12 | 80 Jackie’s Bluff | Nicholson Home Builders | 5 / 5.5 | 6,150 | Off GA-60, shuttle |
| 13 | 1081 Dana Rd | Keith Sumner Homes | 5 / 5.5 | 5,028 | Off GA-60, shuttle |
| 14 | 452 Summit Trace | T. Wosyluk Construction | 4 / 3.5 | 4,100 | Toward Blairsville |
Which builders have the most homes on the tour?
Keith Sumner Homes has the most, with four of the 14 homes. Eight builders are on the organizer’s roster, and seven have a home on the 2026 tour. The styles and histories below come from each builder’s Parade profile. Take them as a starting point, and judge the work in person.
Keith Sumner Homes: Homes #3, #4, #7, #13
Keith Sumner Homes is based in Blue Ridge and builds in rustic, industrial, and Craftsman styles, and Keith Sumner is also the Parade’s founder. His four homes run from a 1,379-square-foot barndominium with a drive-in garage to a 5,408-square-foot home with timber-framed rooflines.
Coleman Log Homes: Homes #5, #9
Coleman Log Homes is a family-owned, father-and-son firm that’s built in Blue Ridge, Blairsville, and Ellijay since 1985. It’s completed more than 200 homes in log, timber-frame, and rustic styles. Home #9 is the tour’s largest, with 7,000 square feet on 45 acres.
Kevin Teague Homes: Homes #6, #8
Kevin Teague Homes has more than two decades of custom building in the North Georgia mountains and over 250 homes, in modern, industrial, and rustic styles. Home #8 has two full kitchens and four fireplaces.
Lomonaco Homes: Homes #1, #2
Ron Lomonaco’s firm, Lomonaco Homes, builds modern rustic homes in Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Jasper, and nearby counties. Both of its tour homes are in the Ellijay group, so you can see them on the same drive. There’s a modern European farmhouse on Mulkey Road and a stone-and-wood contemporary on about 3.5 acres.
Who else is building on this year’s tour?
Three more builders account for the remaining four homes on the 2026 tour, and one roster builder is sitting this year out. Here, too, the details are each builder’s own.
Nicholson Home Builders: Homes #11, #12
Marc Nicholson’s firm, Nicholson Home Builders, works in Craftsman, industrial, and rustic styles. At Home #12, Jackie’s Bluff, there’s an expanded upper-level loft built for recreation.
Log Homes of Yellowstone: Home #10
Buzz Quintrell’s Log Homes of Yellowstone builds Western-inspired log homes with hand-picked timbers, and his son Brandon builds alongside him. Home #10 has 2,100 square feet, which makes it the second-smallest home on the tour.
T. Wosyluk Construction: Home #14
Tommy Wosyluk moved to Fannin County in 2007 and opened T. Wosyluk Construction in 2008, building in mountain modern and contemporary styles. Home #14 is the only home with a price on the Parade’s own pages.
Homestead Mountain Builders
Don Clement’s firm is on the roster, and he serves on the Parade’s board, but the firm doesn’t have a home on the 2026 tour.
I don’t rank builders in this guide, because the right fit depends on your land, your budget, and how you’ll use the home. Before you hire anyone, I’d work through the vetting steps in our guide to new construction homes in Blue Ridge.
What should you look for inside a parade home?
It’s easy to fall for the furniture, so I’d look past it to the site itself. Staging changes every season, but the lot, the driveway grade, and the direction of the view are permanent. In the North Georgia mountains, they shape what a home costs to build and to own.
- The approach. Four homes need shuttles and four sit behind gates. Notice how steep the drive is and where guests park, because you’ll live with that every winter.
- Which way the glass faces. Long-range views are the draw for most of these homes, but I’d ask about afternoon sun on west-facing walls of glass before you picture where the sofa goes.
- Foundation and drainage. Walk the low side of the house and look at how water leaves the lot. If it isn’t obvious, ask.
- Well and septic. Ask whether the home is on a well and septic system, and where the drain field sits. That’s the patch of yard that filters the wastewater, and you can’t build over it.
- Decks and outdoor rooms. Several homes rely on covered porches and cantilevered decks, so ask what they’re built from and how they’re maintained.
- Materials. Cedar logs, stacked stone, and metal roofs don’t age the same way, so ask the builder’s representative about the maintenance schedule.
- Rental plans. If you might rent the home out, ask whether the community allows short-term rentals before you fall in love with the porch.
Floor plans aren’t handed out, because the organizer treats them as “the intellectual property of the builder, architect, or designer,” so bring your questions and ask them on the spot. Our guide to building on mountain land in North Georgia covers slope, access, and utilities in more depth.
What do parade homes tell you about Blue Ridge prices?
Parade homes sit well above the typical home in the county, so I wouldn’t use the tour alone to judge local prices. The one with a price on the Parade’s own pages is Home #14 at 452 Summit Trace, and it’s listed at $1,629,000 for 4,100 square feet, or about $397 a square foot.
Across Fannin County, the median asking price was $699,900 in September 2026, or $323 a square foot on a median of 2,448 square feet. Home #14 asks about 23% more per square foot for a house that’s 67% larger. In other words, you’re seeing the top of the market, not the middle.
Sold prices are the better guide, because an asking price isn’t a sale price. Through August 2026, Fannin County’s median sale price was $644,500 year to date across 814 closings, with 86 days on market until sale and 11.2 months of supply. For the parade homes themselves, the organizer’s sale page listed five builder homes from $989,750 to $1,629,000 as of October 5, 2026.
How do you plan the day around check-in?
If you can, check in before the weekend, so you’ll start your first morning at a home instead of in a line. Check-in is at SouthState Bank, 59 Orvin Lance Connector at Highway 515 in Blue Ridge, and it opens the Tuesday before the event.
| Day | Check-in hours | Homes open |
|---|---|---|
| Tue to Thu, Oct 13 to 15 | 9 AM to 5 PM | Closed |
| Friday, Oct 16 | 8 AM to 5:30 PM | 10 AM to 5 PM |
| Saturday, Oct 17 | 8 AM to 5 PM | 10 AM to 5 PM |
| Sunday, Oct 18 | 8 AM to 3 PM | 10 AM to 5 PM |
You’ll remove your shoes or wear the booties provided, so I’d wear shoes that slip off easily. Keep your lanyard visible, and ask before taking photos. Pets aren’t permitted, and the homes aren’t childproof. Some homes and parking areas have limited access for guests with mobility needs, so if that matters for your group, check with the organizer before you set your route.
Where should you eat and stay during the Parade of Homes?
I’d book lodging early, because the Parade shares its weekend with the Georgia Apple Festival in Ellijay. The organizer works with the Fannin County and Gilmer County chambers on lodging and dining lists, and they’re where I’d begin.
For lunch between groups, I’d head into downtown Blue Ridge, since it’s central to every route except the Ellijay loop. Our short list of restaurants in Blue Ridge is a good start. If Friday leaves you an hour, the orchards on the Ellijay side are a lovely way to spend it, and our guide to apple season in Blue Ridge covers them.
On the north loop, McCaysville sits at the end of GA-5, and our McCaysville real estate guide introduces the town. If your Sunday ends toward Blairsville, our guide to Blairsville, Georgia is a starting point if you’d like to linger before the drive home.
Are Blue Ridge parade homes for sale?
Some are, and the organizer suggests asking the representative at each home about its status. As of October 5, 2026, Home #14 is the only home with a price on the Parade’s own pages, so don’t assume every stop is for sale.
Home #6 is for sale too, and it’s one I know well, because it’s my listing at Compass. I’m proud to have it on the Parade. Kevin Teague Homes built it and entered it like every other builder on the tour. You’ll find the price, the photos, and a video tour on its listing page.
If you’re serious about a parade home, I’d bring your own representation. While you’re standing in the home, ask three things: whether it’s offered furnished, what warranty the builder provides, and how soon it could close.
If none of the 14 fit, ask the builders whether they’ll build on a lot you own, because where you build changes the math. On Zillow’s August 2026 index, typical home values were $392,106 in Ellijay’s 30540 ZIP and $488,911 in Morganton’s 30560, against $518,606 in Blue Ridge’s 30513. Our notes on homes for sale in Ellijay and Morganton real estate can help you compare.
If you’d prefer a smaller, newer A-frame, the North Creek community in Mineral Bluff is a pre-construction option. You’ll find current resale and new listings on our Blue Ridge properties page.
Should you sell your current home before you build or buy?
Often, yes, because a mountain sale can take longer than a sale in the city. With 11.2 months of supply and 86 days on market until sale in Fannin County as of August 2026, a home up here can take a full season to sell. That’s worth planning around.
If the Parade has you picturing a new build, I’d have your current home priced before you sign a construction contract. Our guidance for Blue Ridge sellers walks through pricing, preparation, and timing, and it doesn’t cost anything to ask what your home would bring today.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 Blue Ridge Parade of Homes?
The 2026 event ran Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18, from 10 AM to 5 PM each day, and has ended. Home #5 was not open on Sunday, October 18.
How much are tickets, and do kids need one?
Tickets are $35 per adult from October 6, 2026, when the $25 early price ended. One ticket covers all three days for one person 18 or older, and children under 18 are free with an adult ticket purchase.
Where do you check in for the Parade of Homes?
You’ll check in at SouthState Bank, 59 Orvin Lance Connector at Highway 515, Blue Ridge, GA 30513. Check-in opens Tuesday, October 13, and closes at 3 PM on Sunday, October 18.
Can you see all 14 homes in one day?
It’s possible, but you’ll be rushed. Homes are open 420 minutes a day, which leaves about 30 minutes per home including drives and four shuttle stops. I’d plan on seven to nine homes a day, or use all three days.
Are tickets refundable or transferable?
Tickets aren’t refundable unless the whole event is canceled, and the Parade runs rain or shine. They’re transferable, but the person picking up must show a copy of the original buyer’s ID at check-in.
Can you bring a dog on the Parade of Homes?
No, pets aren’t permitted on the tour, so you’ll want to plan for a sitter or a pet-friendly cabin for the weekend.
Is this the same event as the Asheville or Charlottesville parade?
No, they’re separate events. This guide covers the Blue Ridge Mountains Parade of Homes in Blue Ridge, Georgia, which is run by a builder-led nonprofit. Separate builder associations run the parades near Asheville, North Carolina and Charlottesville, Virginia.
