The 2008 Gingerbread Village Display to support Greater Lowell Habitat for Humanity will be held on December 6th and 7th 2008 at All Saint's Episcopal Church, in Chelmsford, MA. In its third year, this annual event is a community celebration of creativity and joy with the commitment to supporting fair and just housing for all.
This year's theme is inspired by Illumination Opera's performance of Hansel and Gretel the same weekend. We will be building a replica of the Witch's cottage that children can walk through. We invite others to choose a fairy tale that inspires them and to have fun with it. We of course welcome ALL entries whatever your inspiration.
Consider how you might get involved:
When all of the houses are gathered in one place it makes for an amazing display. We ask for a $5.00 donation per family to visit the display. Builders also have the option of donating their house for sale via silent auction. All proceeds from the admission donations and the silent auction go to benefit of Greater Lowell Habitat for Humanity.
We encourage you to be creative and welcome all entries to the Gingerbread Village Display. There is no charge to participate in the display. We ask you to observe the following:
This year's theme is Fairy Tales. Choose one and represent it with Gingerbread and join as we follow the breadcrumbs to the Witch's Cottage. Note: If you would like to join the team working on the Witch's cottage, please contact the Gingerbread House Event Organizer. We need all the willing hands we can get!
Witch's Cottage Work Parties:
With the work of some very talented members of All Saints, we now have the designs and the structure being built for the huge Gingerbread House. Here's an easy and fun way to join the construction.
We will be having work party days: Sunday Noon; Monday 9:30 AM; Tuesday 7:00 PM. They will run through the month of Nov starting this Sunday. Work parties will meet in the kitchen of the Parish Hall and will work for as long as folks can, come for 30 minutes or an hour or two. A leader will be there to fill you in on what to do- no experience necessary and all ages are welcome.
Pick a day on the schedule to go and help. Meet in the Parish Hall kitchen. A leader will be present to instruct you and provide all materials. You have fun painting scenery, gluing candy or frosting roof shingles. When you are done, the team will clean up and leave a note for the next work team.
Go with an old friend for an hour of catching up over royal icing- invite a new friend to go with you and paint a tree. The atmosphere is relaxed- if you have your hands full with little ones- bring them and we can include them in the work or they can play with the train table! If you would like to bring a large group to help (scout troop, etc.) please contact the Gingerbread House Event Organizer so that we can arrange for everyone to have something to do.
Week Date and Time Nov 16, 17 & 18 Sunday (11/16): Noon; Monday (11/17): 9:30 AM; Tuesday (11/18): 7:00 PM Nov 23, 24 & 25 Sunday (11/23): Noon; Monday (11/24): 9:30 AM; Tuesday (11/25): 7:00 PM Nov 30, Dec 1 & 2 Sunday (11/30): Noon; Monday (12/1) : 9:30 AM; Tuesday (12/2) : 7:00 PM Gingerbread Brick Recipe
Even if you can't attend a work party, you can still help by making bricks for the Witch's Cottage. Note: This is a recipe for "structural" gingerbread bricks, not ones you'd want to eat.
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Spray a jelly roll or half sheet pan with no stick vegetable cooking spray
- Blend until creamy:
- ¼ cup shortening
- ½ cup sugar
- Beat in:
- ½ cup dark molasses
- In a separate bowl, stir together:
- 3½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Add the dry ingredients to the shortening mixture – Caution: This dough will get quite stiff – in about 3 parts alternately with:
- 2/3 cup water
- On a floured surface, roll dough to ¼ inch thick
- Transfer dough to pan/sheet and score with a knife 8 x 12 inch rectangles (i.e., bricks). Bake and save the scraps too; they can be used as construction material.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until set
- Turn the bricks out on to a cooling rack and cool completely
Each house that is donated will have a silent auction sheet where visitors can record a bid for the house. A bid is a commitment to purchase. The Silent Auction will start at 9am on Saturday, December 6th and end at 5pm on Sunday, December 7th. The highest bid at that time wins. All houses must be picked up between 6:00 - 7:00 PM on Sunday night.
To enter a gingerbread construction project submit an on-line form or print the form below and mail or FAX it to All Saints' Church. If you have questions, please contact our Gingerbread House Event Organizer.