2020 Virtual Gingerbread Contest and Exhibit

The Vermont Folklife Center’s 2020 Virtual Gingerbread Contest and Exhibit

Michelle Black’s Covid-19 era gingerbread creation

The Vermont Folklife Center has hosted its first virtual gingerbread house competition and exhibit. We are thrilled that this ever-popular 22-year annual tradition will continue safely despite the pandemic. 

If we can’t all crowd into a room to admire these fantastically creative confections and cast our ballots, we’ll do so online. There is no shortage of creativity and excitement around this Holiday tradition; bakers and creators documented the process and their completed gingerbread houses in photographs and audio recordings.

“Home for the Holidays” is our exhibit theme this year. Since the beginning of the pandemic, “home” has taken on some different — maybe complicated — meanings for many of us. Having been hunkered down at home since March, entrants were invited to explore what “Home for the Holidays” means to them now.

Do they want to be somewhere — anywhere — else? Are they, or people they love, essential workers who won’t be at home? Are they looking forward to the winter holiday season as a chance to reinvent or rediscover home life? What does it mean to be “Home for the Holidays” when there’s really nowhere else to go? Or when many family members won’t be able to return home at all. 

Entrants have baked and built their creations at home and submitted photos to participate in the contest. Prizes are awarded in multiple categories, and the public is invited to vote on their favorite entry, to be awarded the coveted “People’s Choice Award.” Be sure to cast your vote!

This year’s Virtual Gingerbread Contest made possible by the generous support of Diane Cushman and the following businesses: