Deadline for Gingerbread House competition is Dec. 10
By Sherry Lucas
Gingerbread is everywhere in Clinton this holiday season, spicing up the Christmas parade and the Yule Run themes, and also curling up in the coziest of contests — Main Street Clinton’s and Olde Towne Depot’s annual Gingerbread House Competition.
Clintonians are encouraged to sign up to show off their inner baking and decorating genius, and build a sweet confection to delight and amaze friends, family and the community at large.
The event is 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, December 10, at the Olde Towne Depot. Each gingerbread house has a $5 entry fee. The contest is divided into four categories: kids age 6 and younger; kids 7 to 12 years old; teens from age 13 through 18; and adults. The registration form and all the rules can be found online at MainStreetClintonMS.com/gingerbread.
Houses must be delivered to the Olde Towne Depot by 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 10. The sweet structures will remain on display at Olde Towne Depot through December 17.
The Gingerbread House Competition, while still a fairly new event, has seen an incremental increase in participation each year since its start.
“It’s not huge, but we’re growing it. This will be the fourth year we’ve done it, and we feel like that event is getting its feet under it,” said Main Street Clinton Director Tara Lytal. “There are some unbelievable gingerbread houses,” she said of past contests, recalling one Harry Potter-themed entry that featured a dragon. “I wasn’t expecting to see that.”
TV baking shows such as The Great British Bake Off may have kick-started home cooks’ baking ambitions.
“I think all those things just elevated people’s interest in it,” said Lytal. Another past entry featured a pond with ice. “I don’t know what material they had for ice, but it was edible.”
In previous contests, a beautiful church open to show flying buttresses, spun sugar windows, a little ice skating rink and lovely log cabins draped in snow have captivated viewers.
“I was blown away by all of them,” Lytal said. It’s all a fun window into the creative use of edibles, from Tootsie Roll logs to Frosted Mini Wheat roofs. “I’m amazed people put that much time and energy into it.”
With this year’s Christmas Parade and Yule Run gingerbread themes in the air, the vibe is inescapable, and likely destined to boost baking inspirations to the next level.
“We do anticipate more participation this year, since we have a unified theme,” Lytal said.
For questions or more information, call Main Street Clinton or the Olde Towne Depot at 601-924-5472.
