Yesterday my grandsons and I attended an event which for me really marks the start of the holiday season: the Gingerbread Jubilee at the Craterian Theater in Medford, Oregon. This was the 22nd year of the fundraiser for the theater, a nonprofit which brings in national and international performances and supports local theater groups as well. Ticket sales only cover about 60 percent of the annual operating budget of the organization, and the annual Jubilee goes a long way toward filling the gap.

I have only ever attended the “community tour” of the extravaganza, where the public is able to view the entries to the gingerbread baking competition for a very modest $4 ticket price. However, an online auction of donated items, a gala dinner and live auction (of the fanciful creations) are also part of the week-long event. The baking competition offers four entry categories: Adult, Student (under 18), Group (adults and children) and Student (under 11); and prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category, with a $1,000 grand prize for the best of the best.

Sean (10), James (7) and I arrived just as the doors opened, and the boys waited patiently as attendees had to pay at the door (no advance purchase available). The displays began just beyond the lobby, snaking down a long hall, up to the balcony level and throughout a large lobby and room there. Sean had brought his small digital camera and eagerly took pictures of most of the 70 entries. Each had to be made entirely of edible materials, and the boys liked to point out items they recognized in the construction.

Most of the first displays were in the student category, and many had a statement by the creators telling how old they were, what inspired their design and how they built it. The range of skill and complexity was quite broad, but you could certainly see the heart that went into each. Some followed a traditional Christmas color scheme, with lots of peppermint and royal icing snow,     while others featured characters and scenes from favorite movies such as Despicable Me and The Nightmare Before Christmas.   We were really impressed by the entry of a 14-year-old boy which featured a video game theme. A volunteer standing nearby explained that the boy lived with a chronic heart condition and so spent a lot of time indoors playing games. He clearly has a lot of talent in design and gingerbread-making! The boys also got kick out of this rocket-propelled Santa, titled “Santa’s Got a Brand-New Ride.”

As we made our way upstairs, some of the more elaborate displays came into view. Many included lights, and those which couldn’t be viewed from several sides were placed on turntables so one could appreciate all the work that went into them. There are two women who have built amazing displays each of the last several years, and I always look forward to seeing their work. Kate Sharbono spent an estimated 200 hours on her elaborate Victorian mansion, and her detail work with edible lace was astounding. She stood near her creation and proudly answered questions and accepted compliments on her masterpiece. She talked about having to rebuild the finely detailed gates in the back garden several times and engineering the “floating turret.” She’s the woman in the red shirt in the picture above; you can understand her pride!

The other design was based on the classic ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,  and it featured a two-story house with cutaways to reveal the children’s bedroom and the parlor below. And of course, up on the rooftop sat the sleigh and reindeer, with Santa peeking out of the chimney.

I was immediately drawn to one of the last creations on display, titled “The Christmas Man.”  You may recall the blog I wrote last month about the marvelous wooden troll sculptures of Thomas Danbo, one of which I visited in Portland.  This figure immediately struck me in its similarity in look and style. Sure enough, the bakers who entered it described in their notes how they had been inspired by Danbo’s trolls. They certainly captured it very well . . . all in gingerbread!

Fortunately, we seemed to complete our circuit of the gingerbread creations just about the same time the boys got the hungries and were ready to move on. We made our way downstairs, where a large group playing holiday songs on ukeleles entertained while folks enjoyed hot drinks and cookies at tables in the lobby. We grabbed some hot cocoa to go and made our way home, with visions of gingerbread still dancing in our heads.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor