Highlights

It wasn’t easy picking winners from the 24 gingerbread houses on display for Sausalito’s Third Annual Gingerbread House Competition and Tour.  Our team of judges (Cheryl Popp SCOC President, Adam Politzer, City Manager and Merrill Waters, 2007 and 2008 GG Competition Winner), felt that they were ALL winners, especially when you consider the huge amount of time each one took to construct -- on average, even the littlest gingerbread house took 15 hours to produce. The judges heard about collapsed walls, melted windows, errant children stealing candy – every single participant had trials and tribulations to relate. But what labors of love!  Despite the huge commitment of holiday time, every baker, decorator, gingerbread-house-maker said they’d do it again.

The winner for Most Creative was a tie between Angelino’s gingerbread house that was decorated with over 30 different kinds of pasta and Cibo’s post-modern gingerbread house. Since Tera Ancona created both, she is the grand award winner in this category. See photo attached of Cibo's beautiful Gingerbread House. (photo taken by Beth diLego)

Honorable Mention in this category went to The Inn Above Tide for what had to be the most beautiful gingerbread house on display. The oversized house, constructed from scratch versus kit, is a grand pastel pastry creation that is truly charming.

The other cash award ($250) for Best Depiction of Sausalito went to Caffe Piccolo where Mauro Dosolini and his staff recreated Vina Del Mar park replete with flowing fountain and elephants. It isn’t a house so much as it is an entire City block of gingerbread. It is a massive and colorful structure that exudes an intoxicating chocolate aroma since so much was used in its construction.  Honorable Mention in this category went to Sausalito Pottery and Lorna Newlin who constructed a replica of the Julia Morgan Sausalito Woman’s Club, State Farm Insurance who created a gingery Sausalito houseboat scenario and the Sausalito Police, whose gingerbread house include barred windows and squad cars outside – I’m not sure our new Public Safety Building will be able to compete!

ALL of the gingerbread houses deserve recognition however. There were so many beautiful, festive and clever creations – the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a gingerbread dog house, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Shark, pulling Santa’s sleigh on top of the Horizon’s gingerbread roof, the Frank Lloyd Wright boathouse gingerbread house at Open Rowing.

While some professional pastry chefs whipped out massive creations (don’t miss the gigantic gingerbread architecture at Cavallo Point), most of the participants were not professionals and used simple (I use this word in jest) kits that are available. Some of these “kit” houses were absolutely enchanting and charming (Dis & Dat, the Bay Model, Bluebird Yarn).

So congratulations to our 2009 award winners, and big kudos to all the participants. Your efforts are all applauded…and hopefully good enough to eat!

Grab a map at a participating merchant or at one of the visitor centers in Sausalito and you can take a culinary tour that is well worth it.  Allow at least two hours to see all the gingerbread creations and if you want to shop and stop and eat and drink along the way, allow even more time! Don’t forget to cast your vote for the “People’s Choice”. The winner of this category will be announced in early January.

While most of the gingerbread houses are on display in the center of the shopping district on and off Bridgeway, there are also a lot of gingerbread houses to see on Caledonia/ Pine Street and in the North end of town; you will want a car to capture them all.

The Gingerbread House Tour is sponsored by the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce. The houses will be on display until December 31^st.