Gingerbread Extravaganza opens for entries Monday

Calling all bakers, architects, artists and everyone interested in participating in this year?s Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk Gingerbread Extravaganza: the art walk and the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce are partnering up again to celebrate the Gingerbread Extravaganza, which boasts one of the largest displays of gingerbread in southeast Iowa.

?People love coming to the Gingerbread Extravaganza from all over Iowa to visit the galleries and shops to view all the creative houses and structures made of gingerbread,? said Tracy Vance, chamber executive director.

?Even in the cold weather of December, people will come out and stroll around the square to see the Christmas lights and all the gingerbread displays.? added Nancy Morrissey, chamber administrator. 

A call for entries is being sent out to excite and encourage everyone to participate in the annual contest. Anyone can enter a gingerbread house, and there are six categories to choose from:

? Young Children:  Ages 5 to 11;

? Teens:  Ages 12 to 18;

? Adults: Individual Adults over 18 years of age;

? Organizations or Groups: Businesses or other social groups;

? Outside of the House: Gingerbread creations that are not houses; and

? Non-Profits and Schools: Must be a Chapter 501c3 or School to qualify.

Outside the House and Non-Profit and Schools are new categories.

Outside the House is to stimulate creativity and encourage people to come up with gingerbread designs that are not necessary in the shape of a house.

?We are looking for creative expression using the medium of gingerbread, said Dania De Bortoli, art walk event coordinator. ?If someone wanted to create a diorama of Tolkien?s ?Lord of the Rings? in gingerbread, we would encourage it.?

?I am also very excited about the new non-profit category for gingerbread entries,? she continued. ?It?s a creative way for non-profits to team up with art walk and the chamber to mutually support our organizations and the community. ?

In Non-Profits and Schools, a registered 501c3 non-profit or school can raise money for their organization because each non-profit entry can be voted on by the public through cash donations placed in collection jars next to each entry. The non-profit with the highest donations wins. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds go to the non-profit while the remaining goes to art walk.

Anyone who wants to enter the Non-Profits and Schools category should contact De Bortoli at 233-8883 or fairfieldartwalk@gmail.com for more details.  

Entries for all categories will be displayed in shop windows around the square throughout the holiday season beginning in mid-November.

All gingerbread entries other than the non-profit category may be dropped off at Fairfield Nutrition on the east side of the square. Entries may start as early as Monday, but must be received no later than 6 p.m. Nov. 30.

The extravaganza will culminate with the Dec. 2 Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk, where prizes will be awarded in five different categories by a panel of judges.

Also on Dec. 2, a silent auction of the gingerbread houses from the Non-Profit and Schools category will be held. All proceeds from the silent auction will go to the non-profits and art walk.

The Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk also will include the annual children?s gingerbread workshop, horse-drawn holiday carriage rides, pictures with Santa Claus, holiday story telling for kids, holiday music on the square, traditional holiday treats and more.

For more information on how to enter and even how to make the best icing, go to www.fairfieldartwalk.org.

Entry forms can be downloaded on line or picked up at the chamber of commerce and Fairfield Nutrition. 

For more information on Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk, an Iowa Tourism Event of the Year and recipient of the Iowa Tourism Office?s Tourism and the Arts award, contact De Bortoli at 233-8883, fairfieldartwalk@gmail.com or www.fairfieldartwalk.org or the chamber at 472-2111 or chamber@fairfieldiowa.com.