National Gingerbread House Competition
The National Gingerbread House Competition is an annual event held at Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. Finalists are placed on public display in the resort's halls each November and December.[1] The competition has been broadcast by Good Morning America on ABC, The TODAY Show on NBC, the Food Network, and the Travel Channel.
The contest includes Adult, Teen, Youth and Child age categories. Hundreds of contestants from across the United States vie for more than $40,000 in prizes. Entries must be composed of at least 75 percent gingerbread and be completely built from edible materials.[2] Entries can be anything from clock towers to ocean liners to giant pandas – the competition is not limited to houses.[3]
The event started in 1992 with a small set of gingerbread houses built by people in the community to celebrate the Christmas holiday season. It was not a contest and not expected to continue the next year. As the years went by, visitors began to inquire about which entry was the winner, and the contest was born.[4][3]
The competition has been canceled just one year, in 2024, after the resort closed temporarily due to flooding in Asheville from Hurricane Helene.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "National Gingerbread House Competition". Craft in America. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
- ^ "National Gingerbread House Competition at The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC". Explore Asheville. 2024-08-25. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ a b Hartke, Kristen (2018-12-24). "Gingerbread Cred: Bakers Craft Winning Edible Art Down To The Last Detail". NPR. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "The 32nd Annual National Gingerbread House Competition". Omni Grove Park Inn. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ Snipes, Anisa (2024-10-22). "Omni Grove Park Inn cancels beloved gingerbread house competition due to Helene". Fox Carolina. Retrieved 2024-10-22.