Dome Tour 2005, the report

"We want a dome home"

"We've been looking at dome homes for 20 years"

"Our home was destroyed during Hurricane ….."

"I've been following your website for over a year now."

These are the comments we heard over and over during our two day Open House, coinciding with the National Dome Tour.

For the last three years we've opened our dome for tours as we were building it, we noticed a drastic change in the type of visitor. Over the course of the three years we've shown the building to almost 6000 people. As we near completion, and the beauty of the dome is beginning to show, the conversations are more about how pleased people were with the "feel" of the dome environment.

This year's guest was much more informed about thin shelled concrete structures. They'd researched on the internet, seen our website, seen them on tv and newspapers, and were very excited about being in one in person. They've stopped asking "Why is it round?"

From early Saturday morning, visitors started showing up in a constant stream of about 20 at a time. Several had newspaper articles in their hands from last Sunday. We would have had more people, but there was a misprint in the article that gave the wrong dates and didn't give good directions. We had about 100 calls over the two day period from people asking for directions. Debbie had to hand off the phone to Susan and Billy on Saturday and Sunday so she could continue her Q & A sessions in the theatre.

The last two years we chose to hold the event over the weekend, and it proved effective since we doubled our count for Sunday over Saturday's amount. In the future, maybe other dome owners should consider using the whole weekend, instead of just Saturday.

We had people staged in each area to answer questions and showcase the products that are innovative in each room, and the techniques used to create them. Groups of 20 people moved from station to station and ended up in the theatre for questions and answers with Debbie, and a demo of the theatre equipment. They were mostly curious about the energy efficiency of the building and our $75.00 a month FPL electric bill. They asked about the hurricanes and the generator system we have, and what types of thin shelled shapes they could build. Several people had drawings and ideas of what they'd like to do, and others were in pursuit of the property to build upon.

This continued for both days, non-stop. We had just under 500 people tour the dome. We raised $1453.00, after cleaning expenses for WPSL Christmas Kids Charity. We increased the awareness of domes to another level with this tour, and dispelled a lot of misconceptions. This will be our last tour for the general public. We will continue to support charity functions held privately at Safe Harbor Dome. We are a private home and are not open to the public, but we will make appointments with individuals seeking more information about building a thin shelled concrete structure, or more information on our show and the products we have integrated into Safe Harbor Dome.

Billy Elkins

Deborah Razete-Elkins

befilms@bellsouth.net

www.safeharbordome.com

772-486-4555

Safe Harbor Dome is participating in the 2005 Annual National Dome tour, and we have selected the WPSL Christmas Kids as our charity this year.

We will have our friends at WPSL 1590 on hand to help with the dome tour and we will be charging a donation fee at the gate. All proceeds after cleanup costs will go to this year-round charitable organization. The donation fee will be $5.00 per adult and $3.00 per child under 18 years of age.

We will be open on both Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th, from 10 am until 6 pm. We will have each room in the dome staffed with a person ready to answer questions. Debbie will again be on hand in the theatre to host a Q & A session at the end of your walking tour. Billy will be hosting the exterior Q & A sessions in the new patio/pool Screen dome enclosure.

The Christmas Kids originated in 1947 when WIRA, the first radio station on the Treasure Coast broadcast an appeal to help a little girl with brain cancer. The generosity of listeners was overwhelming--the toys and money donated helped little Reba Nell & many more children. The campaign has continued every holiday season since. Over the years, the Christmas Kids expanded to include summer recreation programs for children plus medical supplies & school clothing for families with no other place to turn. In 1994, the Christmas Kids "were adopted" by WPSL AM 1590. In 2000, more than 200 bicycles were refurbished & given away with holiday toys for 800 children. And with the help of a very special group of Friends of the Christmas Kids, a record amount was donated for St. Lucie County Summer Day camp for the Water Babies Program at county pools, and for "camperships" to Port St. Lucie City Summer Camp. The Christmas Kids is an all volunteer organization & all funds go to children.

WPSL Christmas Kids

8245 Business Park Drive

Port St. Lucie,  Florida 34952

(772) 340-1590