The opening night cocktail party for the East Hampton Historical Society’s annual house tour heralds the winter holiday season in the Hamptons. HC&G is the media sponsor of the cocktail kickoff on Friday, November 23, at the William E. Wheelock House on Georgica Road (see “Calendar,” page 112, for more details). A hidden gem of a home with both historical and architectural significance, it’s one of the village’s first grand shingle-style cottages. Built in 1891 and situated on more than 10 acres of manicured grounds, this enchanting estate is reminiscent of a bygone era.

A few modern houses are included on the tour as well. Be sure to visit the contemporary Maziar Behrooz–designed house in Wainscott, which includes hanging gardens and a museum-quality art collection. (The architect’s “Arc House” was featured in the August 15 edition of HC&G, so check out your back issues for a preview of his cutting-edge style.) And don’t miss the homes owned by such local talents as Michael Derrig of Landscape Details and Pat Trunzo of Trunzo Builders.

It’s hard to believe that our 11th year is coming to a close. And what a year it was! Record attendance at our events and substantial increases in our advertising lineage reflect a general boost in confidence, and we all started having fun again. So much, in fact, that we even launched a new publication, New York Cottages & Gardens, which you can get a little taste of in the pages of this special joint holiday issue. We were especially excited by the success of last July’s Innovation in Design Awards, which drew a record crowd as Stephanie Odegard of the Stephanie Odegard Collection received our highest honor, the Innovator Award, at East Hampton’s Guild Hall. The call for entries for 2013 is out now, so be sure to encourage the decorators, garden designers, and architects you admire most to enter their projects in next year’s awards competition (go to cottages-gardens.com/ iras for more information).