2011

9th Annual Gingerbread Contest

November 25th - December 19th

(Public Invited to Participate)

Basic Information

Members of the public are invited to create and submit a Gingerbread Creation. This can be a gingerbread house, train, street scene, whatever! Entries must be dropped off and registered at KaleidoScoops Ice Cream (53 N. Williams St.) starting November 25th. The gingerbread creations will remain on display at KaleidoScoops.

The public will be able to vote for their favorite Gingerbread Creation in the following categories:

Adult (14 & up) - Home Baked
Adult (14 & up) - Kit
Child (7-13) - Home Baked
Child (7-13) - Kit
Child (under 7) - Kit

Winners will be announced 12/19/11. Prizes for the top entries!

Questions? Call KaleidoScoops Ice Cream & More (815) 788-0027 or Downtown Crystal Lake/Main Street (815) 479-0835.

Contest Rules

Bake, construct, and decorate a Gingerbread Creation which is VISIBLY EDIBLE. Gingerbread must be a major part of the creation. Supports, if needed, can be something other than edible food. However, ALL SUPPORTS MUST BE COVERED WITH EDIBLE FOOD.
BASE: The creation base MUST be on a sturdy decorated base NOT TO EXCEED 24" x 24". Please be sure to include your name, address and phone number on the bottom of the base.
You may wish to spray several coats of clear lacquer on the Creation before delivering to the contest.
Gingerbread Creations are not restricted to a house design or theme.
The contest is open to anyone and contestants are NOT LIMITED to a single entry.
Entries must be received at KaleidoScoops Ice Cream & More (53 N. Williams St.) during normal business hours. On-site construction, decoration, or assembling (other than minor repair) IS NOT ALLOWED.
Entries will remain on display through 12/19/11. All registrations and votes are handled by KaleidoScoops Ice Cream & More.
All entries MUST be claimed by 12/24/11. Any items left after that will be discarded.
Entrants agree that their name, photograph, and photo of entry may be used for publicity or advertisement without compensation to the entrant.
Neither Downtown Crystal Lake/Main Street or KaleidoScoops Ice Cream & More are responsible for theft, damage, acts of nature or destruction of entries.

The Judging

The public can cast their vote at KaleidoScoops Ice Cream & More for the winning Gingerbread Creation starting 11/25/11. Judging will be based on the following criteria:

Total Display - the overall aesthetics of the display, originality, as well as the overall impact will be considered.
Quality of Construction - construction techniques, workmanship, and the permanency of the display will be considered.
Intricacy of Design - attention to detail and additional work required to complete an intricate display will be considered.
Winners will be announced 12/19/11

Recipes & Helpful Hints

If you have a gingerbread recipe or some helpful hints that you wish to share, please email the information to: downtowncl@sbcglobal.net

Recipes:
Gingerbread & Royal Icing Recipe - Melody Stanko
Gingerbread & Icing Recipe - complete with pattern instructions
Helpful Hints:
Bake gingerbread to a dark brown. The Gingerbread Creation will be sturdier by reducing moisture in the Gingerbread.
Let the baked gingerbread harden for several days before assembly.
The Gingerbread Creations will be displayed in sunny windows and the sun is not kind to all items. Try to avoid items such as chocolate, marshmallow creme or other items that melt in the sun

2010 Winners were:

Adult - Home Baked: Shelly Nicholson, Woodstock
Child (Under age 7) - Prebaked Kit: Patricia Georgiou, Crystal Lake
Child (age 7-13) - Prebaked Kit: Jade Woo, McHenry
Child (age 7-13) - Home Baked: Ryan Pisha, Crystal Lake