Items for Sale

Bakers Alyssa and Veronica Norman share "It wouldn't be Christmas without watching our favourite holiday movies and checking off the days with an advent calendar".

Lloyd and Linda Gilmore share that the Gingerbread Showcase supports a great cause and is a different way of being creative. Lloyd reports that he usually tries to outdo his previous creations in some way. Lloyd shared that his columns were made of spaghetti covered by royal icing as well as mixed with spaghetti.

The theme is family traditions and we wanted to do something that showed both of our traditions, something many of us can relate to as well. While family game night isn't something we do as often as we would like anymore, there are many fond memories there and some things we get to teach the kids as they get older. Also being able to share and teach one another our different family traditions. Bakers: Mel Hiebert and Sheena Wells

Our inspiration for this project is the memories that bring us together every year. We each have our fingerprints on our own little piece of the whole. Bakers: Bonnie, Michel and Jenna Mailloux

The rainbow of colour is inspired by a tradition my family had during Christmas. We would choose a colour or combination of colours to decorate the Christmas tree. The overall inspiration though is celebrating old traditions and new traditions to come. The Christmas tree is filled with old memories and characters whereas the surrounding presents and whatnot are new ones to come. Baker: Sarah Rachel Hoffman

Having conversations with our elderly clients who visit our day program at Mount Newton Centre, we realized that Family Traditions become strong memories, and fond memories become traditions that are passed down through generations. All the techniques were done on a whim. Karen's wood grain pattern of the gingerbread furniture was amazing and her washing with food colouring before baking was perfect. All the characters are hand carved and every component we used is edible and far from the typical Gingerbread House decorating candy. I am very proud of our creativity and look forward to the next challenge. Bakers: Karen Street, Larry Gorrill & Staff of Mount Newton Centre

Our senior residents enjoy many traditional festive activities during the holidays. We wanted to share what joy our residents have living with their new 'family': caroling, decorating the tree, creating a gingerbread village with a local elementary class, listening to live music, and stockings for all hung by the fireplace for Santa to fill.

This year I had the wonderful experience of learning how to forage for mushrooms in our beautiful forests. This is a tradition for many on the West Coast in the fall leading into the holidays. There is always much to be learned when identifying your mushrooms and researching their safety and medicinal uses. The Amanita Muscaria mushroom has a rich history and folklore. It was used medicainally by shamans and indigenous communities from the north, during the winter solstice. Many believe that this is where the magic of the holidays began! Baker: Sarah Jones

To illustrate my heart for making gingerbread, and sharing Christmas spirit, through seemingly endless tiny cookies! This led to symbolizing the motion of producing and distributing these, from mug houses to bite-size shapes, while celebrating the creative process and variety! I'm so grateful for the opportunity to balance this seasonal, home-based labour of love! I was also recently inspired by a dream to Torun, Poland - a medical centre of gingerbread production - and an exhibition I saw there of modern ways to build with it. There was even a six-foot gingerbread towe made of balanced houses! The displays seemed to defy gravity, and overall, showcased the versatility of gingerbread. The cookie-cutter shape of home that crowns my display is from trip. Baker: Kim Barnard

Baker Marciela Vasquez shares her inspiration is the idea of celebrating loved ones as if they were still physically here.