Decorated homes on display

She’s expecting about 500 strangers to show up to see her Christmas tree.

Cochand will be participating in the third Festive Homes Tour organized by the West Island Palliative Care Residence on Dec. 7. Her home will be one of the seven West Island residences in Senneville, Beaconsfield, Pointe Claire and Dorval to open their doors to visitors.

“It’s one of our biggest in-house events,” said Andrea Gordon, events co-ordinator at the hospice.

It is also an important source of revenue for the Kirkland non-profit charitable organization, which must raise $1 million each year through its 54 fundraising events to be able to operate.

The WIPCR provides palliative care to patients in the final days of a terminal illness and support to their families.

“I’m quite happy to support a non-profit (organization) on the West Island,” Cochand said.

She has herself worked for almost 30 years in the non-profit sector at the YMCA and Dans la rue among others, before to become the owner of Le Panier in Pointe Claire. She heard of the Festive Homes Tour through one of her neighbours, one of the WIPCR’s directors, who asked her if she would like to participate.

“I think people will enjoy it,” Cochand said.

A team of volunteers will assist her for the day, as she will open all the rooms of the house to visitors. She is planning on decorating her home as she does every year.

“It’s full of things that our children have made,” she said of her old-fashioned Christmas tree.

Visitors will be able to organize the tour the way they want and will travel from home to home on their own. The seven homes have been carefully selected for their charm and diversity.

The tour will go on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular tickets are sold for $30 and V.I.P. tickets including an afternoon tea at the Forest and Stream Club in Dorval are available for $60. They can be purchased by calling 514-693-1718.