Teams of four carefully “glued” gumdrops, pretzel sticks, cereal, candy-canes, lifesavers, Smarties, gingerbread panels and bushels of other goodies into place with copious amounts of icing.
The judges appeared to be savoring their duties as they made the circuit of completed projects.
Master chef Susie Sweeney was appointed to taste-test the entries.
“I had to make sure everything was edible. That was the main thing. That’s why I have stains on my fingers,” she said.
Architect Robert Chipman’s main concern was the construction.
“Some of them were fairly well built. There were a few that had a sag in them so I knocked off a point or two. I gave a few extra points for originality,” he said.
Artist Dan Earle says he was looking for originality, composition and whether each entry was complete.
"Some didn’t have an edge around them. I also looked to see if the pieces seemed to go together,” he said.
At the close of the evening, the 10 teams had the option of auctioning their entry off and using proceeds as they seemed fit, or retaining the entry for their own use.
Rudders Reindeers, winner of the adult team category and People’s Choice awards chose to keep their gingerbread house on display at Rudders Seafood Restaurant and Brew Pub.
Winners are as follows:
Youth Under 12: Bridget DeMille
Teen: Acadia First Nation Dream Team (Kaylee Blair, Cheneyre Battiste, Kaitlin Lane, James Blair)
Adult and People's Choice Awards: Rudders' Rein"dears" (Meaghan Amirault, Nastasha Elliot, Amy Smith & Alyassa Surette)
Senior: The Ginger Girls (Janice Giffin, Nancy Muise, Johanna Bennett)
Professional: Team Cailen (Cailen Smith)
