Community representatives recently completed scoring submissions in the 34th Annual Gingerbread Gallery at the Erie Canal Museum, 318 Erie Boulevard East in downtown Syracuse. Works by amateur and professional bakers were judged on the basis of overall appeal, originality, difficulty, and creative use of materials. Top bakers in the Youth, Family/Group, and Senior categories are honored with ribbons. Cash prizes go to the top three winners in the Confectioner category, and a special ribbon is awarded to the baker whose work is judged to best represent the Erie Canal.
Museum visitors may continue to vote for the People’s Choice winner through December 29. The winner of this award will be announced at the end of December.
Here are this year’s top Gingerbread Gallery creations and their bakers:
Youth:
First Place: Life on the Erie Canal by Samuel and Carmen Cosentino
Second Place: Take Me Down to the Towpath Road by the BOCES SKATE class at East Syracuse Elementary School
Third Place: Dragon’s Playground by the 4 Year Olds at UCC Nursery School
Family/Group:
First Place: Christmas with the Addams Family by the Piper Family
Second Place:”Lillie” Packet Boat Model Parade Float by Debi Pierce
Third Place: The Swirling Hot Coco Cup by Moira Dick and Shelley Loftus
Senior:
First Place: Santa on the Erie Canal by Jeanne Kiesinger
Second Place: Rexford NY Aqueduct by Fred and Patti vonMechow
Third Place: Good Enough to Eat by Theresa Vuillemot
Confectioner:
First Place: Victorian Candy Castle by Peter M. Knodel
Second Place: The Trees by Leslie and James Muhlhahn
Third Place: Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! by Angela and Marisa Finistrella
Erie Canal Theme:
”Lillie” Packet Boat Model Parade Float by Debi Pierce
The works will be on display in the Museum’s second-floor Weighlock Gallery through January 5, 2020. The Museum and the Gingerbread Gallery are open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., closed at 2 p.m. on December 24 and 31, and closed all day December 25 and January 1. Admission to the Gingerbread Gallery is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $2 for children 12 and under.
Established in 1962, the Erie Canal Museum preserves and showcases the only existing weighlock building in the United States, and shares the history and impact of the Erie Canal through permanent and changing exhibits, interactive displays, audio narratives, and original artifacts. Admission is free with a suggested $5 donation. The Museum is partially funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. For more information visit https://eriecanalmuseum.org or email outreach@eriecanalmuseum.org.
