GREENSBORO, N.C. — Did you say 'Gingerbread in July'? I know it doesn't seem to be the season, but registration for the 31st Annual National Gingerbread House Competition at the Omni Grove Park Inn is now open!
REGISTER HERE
Every year, hundreds of participants enter the contest and physically, bring their creative confections to Asheville to be judged.
"The houses are brought individually, manually by the people who created them. So if they made a giant house and they live across the country, they might fly there and buy the house its own seat on the airplane so they can babysit it. Some might take it apart and check it or drive it with them and hope for the best, so they get there many different ways, but the mailman does not touch them," said Chef Mark Seaman, the Lead Judge of the National Gingerbread House Competition.
There are age divisions starting at age five. In each division, there is a first, second, and third-place finisher, and there is an overall Grand Prize Winner. All in all, there is $40,000 in prize money to be had, along with two-night stays at the Omni Grove Park Inn.
"Across the board, regardless of the age division, all of them come down to detail for me. Even little kids. They may say, Mark, I like this green gumdrop as a bush so I thought it would be good to put this green candy cane as a fence post and I see that as them carrying the color through the piece," said Seaman.
Entries are judged on five criteria: 1) Overall Appearance, 2) Originality and Creativity, 3) Difficulty, 4) Precision, and 5) Consistency of Theme.
According to the Grove Park Inn site:
Everything above the base of your entry must be composed completely of edible materials. Competitors are permitted to use up to 40% mechanically produced components in their entry. Examples include machine-designed, 3D-printed, and laser-cut components. 60% of each entry must be handcrafted. The main structure of your entry must be constructed of at least 75% gingerbread, some of which should be exposed.
Last year's winner was from Cary, NC. The Peter Pan-themed house took home the Grand Prize money of $7,000. All the houses are on display after the judging in mid-November. You can see the houses in the great ballroom and all throughout the Inn. It is free for folks to view the houses after the competition.
VIEWING THE DISPLAY
The official 2023 Gingerbread display begins on Monday, November 27, 2023, and will continue through Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
Guests not staying at the Resort are invited to view the display after 4:00 p.m. on Sundays or anytime Monday through Thursday, based on parking availability and excluding holidays and the following dates: December 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, and January 1. All Fridays and Saturdays are reserved for registered resort guests and those that have confirmed dining reservations. Display access is subject to hotel capacity, including pedestrian traffic. Please note that only Registered Resort Pets will be permitted. No outside pets will be allowed.
"I think it’s fantastic how many people bring in their entries and it’s meaningful to them in some way or represents a culture. One of them that comes to mind was an igloo. An igloo is a house we can relate to it, I never lived in one, but I remembered the entry all these years. There were a pair of pandas, they were furry and you wanted to hug them then the most exciting one was the Russian Nesting Doll Set. There were beautiful colors and rounded and you could take the lid off and there was another doll, and another doll, and another doll, " said Seaman.
2WTK asked the lead judge if he could give us any recommendations for making our home Gingerbread houses hold up better.
"I can't peer into everyone's kitchen, but I think it could come down to patience. Even when I'm looking at the kid's entries at Omni Grove Park Inn, maybe they got their walls up, and bam they're ready to decorate and it collapses," said Seaman.
To help us all, the Omni even has piping directions so you can up your frosting skills and a Gingerbread house template.