Gingerbread contest

Calling all bakers and pastry architects with a competitive edge: The Dayton Holiday Festival is looking for the area’s most creative confectionery decorators to compete in the 16th annual Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays contest on Friday, Nov. 26. Entries will be voted on by the public that day during the Grande Illumination event from 4 to 8 p.m.

All interested parties are invited to fill out an application. A limited number of applicants will be selected to compete in the contest. If selected, you will be invited to showcase your masterpiece at the event and to compete for the top prize. All selected applicants will receive a $200 stipend to help cover the cost of building materials. Applications are available at www.daytonholidayfestival.org. Forms may be completed online or may be submitted to the Downtown Dayton Partnership at 10 W. Second St., Suite 611, Dayton, OH 45402 or by email to pack@downtowndayton.org. Applications are due by Friday, October 29.

Traditional houses, replicas of buildings, a kit or even cardboard entries are permitted -as long as all exposed surfaces are covered with edible materials. First place will receive a $500 cash prize. This year, the public will choose which house will be dubbed “Best House on the Block.”

“The entries get more creative each year,” said Sandra Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership. “The imagination and skill that goes into creating each of these gingerbread houses makes for a really special exhibit. It’s always a fun part of our holiday season kickoff.”

The Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays contest is part of the month-long Dayton Holiday Festival, presented by AES Ohio, the Downtown Dayton Partnership, and the Virginia W. Kettering Dayton Holiday Festival Fund. For more information on the contest and other activities that are part of the Dayton Holiday Festival, marking 49 years of kicking off the holiday season in the Dayton region, call 937-2241518 or visit www.daytonholidayfestival.org.