CUSTOM-MADE CANDY HOMES
Builders strut their stuff
CLAIRE YOUNG
When it comes to building communities — Panorama Hills, Walden and Carrington, just to name a few — Genstar Development Co. is well-known in Calgary. It turns out, their prowess in gingerbread house construction is top-notch, too.
Genstar’s celebration of Canada’s sesquicentennial — featuring Centre Block on Parliament Hill — won the eighth annual GingerCane Contest, put on by Evans 2 Design Group.
The gingerbread house building contest was won by garnering the most donations for charity — in this case, $4,830.
With about 20 clients of Evans 2 Design Group participating from both Calgary and Edmonton, a touch over $20,000 was raised for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation in Calgary and the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation in Edmonton.
“We’re always amazed,” says Kathy Evans, senior partner and CEO of Evans 2 Design Group. “You kind of think you’ve seen it all, and then people come up with new things every year. We’re always really excited to see what they do.”
Genstar’s creation includes the controversial skating rink on Parliament Hill — no hockey, no figure skating and it’s free, but you must reserve your 45-minute time slot — and the Canada 150 maple leaf. Cheeky — and hidden from view of the camera — is the cannabis leaf on the back of the Canadian flag.
Scheffer Andrew Ltd., an engineering firm, placed second, bringing in $3,785.
New home builder Shane Homes placed third, raising $2,315 for its vignette.
Newsworthiness and pop culture often show up as themes in this contest. Other years, submissions have given a nod to the Olympics, the opening of Rexall Place in Edmonton, and Star Wars.
“Our own group this year did a green theme,” Evans says. “We do a little scene. They had solar panels and (a) test sleigh, the reindeer producing biofuel. We made our Christmas trees into a wind farm. We had Santa on a treadmill, and that was the power generator.”
Over the years, the GingerCane Contest has raised about $200,000 for the children’s hospital foundations.
“We’re very appreciative of the homebuilding industry that we’ve been in for years because they always step up to the plate and come through with a donation. It’s a great industry,” Evans says.