For me and my family, this holiday season is off to a great start, and we’ve packed a lot of fun into the first few weeks already. It all started with the annual Gingerbread Jubilee in Medford, celebrating its 23rd year and raising funds for our local performing arts center, home of the contest and exhibition. For me it marks the start of the festive season, always scheduled for the weekend before Thanksgiving.

I began attending the event several years ago, not long after my husband and I moved to the Rogue Valley. When my older daughter’s family moved here several years ago, I knew touring the inventive and colorful confectionary displays was a tradition I wanted to share with my grandsons. I had to wait a few years until they were old enough to resist the temptation to touch everything in sight, but now they look forward to the Jubilee as much as I do. (I’m sure it helps that Granny is usually happy to spring for ice cream or a similar treat afterwards.)

In past years, participants’ creations were built around a unifying theme, but the organizers this year decided to let imaginations run wild. The basic rules set size restrictions and demand all-edible materials and gingerbread be used (with the exception of lighting). We started our tour in the lobby of the theater building, introduced to displays created by students (ages 12–18), junior students (those 11 and younger) and groups made up of adults and children. I was impressed at the complexity and sophistication of some of these    while noting that several were built around games, favorite childhood characters    and superheroes, and there was a general exuberance in the use of lots of candy.  

Trekking upstairs, we encountered the adult entries, and while some were not particularly large or complex, all showed attention to detail and careful design. One of my favorites was this puffer fish, which certainly takes the prize for most inventive use of candy corn! Some depicted balmy tropical scenes, and one featured the Eiffel Tower. Several entries offered elaborate houses,      most set in wintry settings, complete with see-through windows, stone chimneys and “water” features. The true showstopper was the elaborate “Dutch Treat,”  complete with a windmill feature that actually turned! I appreciated the fact that it was displayed so that visitors could admire it from all sides and take in all of the architectural and ornamental details.   I could have spent even more time there, but the boys were starting to get a bit antsy, so we wrapped up our visit. For the first time, eight-year-old James mentioned that it might be fun to create something and enter it next year. I think I could get behind that effort!

Our second holiday tradition came less than two weeks later when we took in the colorful Oregon ZooLights in Portland. This visit included our two granddaughters and their mom and dad, and we timed it to fall on just-turned-two Josie’s birthday. It had been a wet day, but daughter Jenny’s weather app indicated the rain would stop around 4 p.m., just before our timed entrance to the zoo. The parking lot was far less full than it was on our visit for last year’s event; clearly only true weatherproof Oregonians had decided to brave the damp and chill.

Undaunted (and armed with rain gear), we made our way to the entrance plaza, reigned over by a giant light mural of our beloved Mt. Hood  and a towering Christmas tree with an elaborate shifting light display. One benefit of the weather (which continued to drip on us with varying intensity throughout our visit; unimpressed, weather app!) was that the small crowds made it much easier to see and maneuver through the displays. No long lines for the hot chocolate and elephant ears, either!

Most of the features were repeats from last year, though several had been shifted from one location to another. I always appreciate the colorful passageways, which were especially lovely this evening with their lights reflected in the damp pavement.  On such a dark night, the light murals depicting a gathering of creatures  and a coastal scene  provided a welcome glow. There were also plenty of interactive features, including lit flowers that you could tap to change their colors and musical tones, long-tendrilled jellyfish  that changed with a touch or a tug, and glowing teeter-totters.

We wrapped up our tour with a spin on the zoo’s carousel and a ride on the beloved Zoo Train, where a zoo-full of life-size, lit-up creatures from dinosaurs and dragonflies to peacocks and lions greeted us as we chugged past.

Yes, despite the weather, we happily agreed that this holiday tradition must hold a permanent spot on our list of special seasonal treats.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor