SWEET TRADITION
GINGERBREAD HOUSE CONTEST CELEBRATES NM, PUEBLO STYLES
The luscious scents of gingerbread, sugar, candy and other sweets are filling the air at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
About 40 gingerbread houses made by local adults and children have been entered into the center’s ninth annual Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest.
“It smells so good here,” said Monique Fragua, museum director at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. “It smells like sugar and pepppermint and sweetness. They look phenomenal, but they smell delicious.”
The children’s category features entries by children ages 12 and younger. Entrants who are older than 12 are placed in the adult category.
“Their design or entry just sort of has to be pueblo-inspired,” Fragua said. “It can be an ancestral site, it can be a home with vigas and that sort of look to it ,and it has to be edible. It can be graham crackers and cookies. It can be rice crispy treats, so it doesn’t have to be the traditional gingerbread house. This is more of a fun take on representing a pueblo community village, historical dwelling, church.”
Every year participants get creative. This year is no different.
“There’s actually an entry down there that is Mesa Verde, and it’s phenomenal,” Fragua said. “I mean, it has kivas and different elements that are just stunning. … There’s even one that looks like a moccasin, and that’s pretty cool. It’s really nice to see the kids’ onnes and sort of their take on pueblo architecture. We don’t necessarily know where the entries come from or who made each house, but you can definitely see some of the pueblo elements or their reflections of home and community. It’s pretty neat.”
The judging is on a couple of different categories. IPCC chooses people from the community and local celebrities to come in and do the official judging for first, second, and third place in the adult and children’s categories. The general public can vote for the People’s Choice Award. Everyone receives a complimentary ballot with museum admission. Three additional ballots can be purchased for $1 or five ballots for $3.
Prizes are $650 for first place, $400 for second place and $250 for third place in the adult category. First place in the children’s category receives $250, with second place winning $150 and third place getting $100. The People’s Choice Award adult prize is $500, and the children’s prize is $250. The People’s Choice Award is sponsored by Isleta Resort & Casino, which provides the prize money for that category.
“It’s really neat the attention to detail and the creativity,” Fragua said. “One of the parents was telling me that they make this as a family. … They use it as an opportunity to talk to their children about pueblo culture and ancestral home sites. Last year, we had another entry from Isleta, and they did the Isleta church and they were telling us about the time that it took to really make sure that the proportions and the look of it was really accurate. So it’s pretty neat that people don’t just look at it as a contest but it’s also a learning opportunity. That’s cool.”