Gingerbread House contest added to stroll

A new event the 2017 Whitehall Christmas Stroll should be a crowd pleaser for the entire family.

A Gingerbread House Contest is scheduled to take place at the event scheduled for December 9. The contest will include an adult division (17 and up), child division (ages 8 to 16), and a family division (group of 3 to 7, 1 adults and 1 child minimum).

"We came up with it about two months ago. I started looking at what other towns do during Christmas and found Gingerbread House contests," Chamber board member Jill Dove said. "It seems so festive and fun. I am hoping it will bring more people into the stroll to look at the creations as well give families a reason to gather and show off their creativity."

The prize for first place in the adult and child's division is $75 in Chamber Bucks. The first place house in the family division will win $125 in Chamber Bucks. A Viewer's Choice Award will receive $50 in Chamber Bucks.

"We are really striving for the Stroll to be about families and our community," Dove said.

RULES

There are ten rules for the 2017 contest. 1. Any structure – real or imaginary – is eligible for entry. 2. All components must be edible. For example, all foil or plastic wrapped candies must be unwrapped; lollipops cannot have paper. NO perishable food items can be used in the making of an entry. 3. You may add battery-operated lighting to your entry. 4. All entries will be judged on originality, overall appearance, choice and use of materials and difficulty of design. 5. Entries must be freestanding and attached to a sturdv base measuring no bigger than 24" L x 18" W. Entries cannot exceed 26" in height. The base must be completely concealed with an edible product. However, the sides of the base do not have to be concealed.

6. For prize money to be awarded in a division; that division must have a minimum of three entries. 7. All entries must be delivered to the Community Center in completed form on Friday, December 8, 2071 between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. 8. The entries will be displayed Saturday, December 9th. 9. The Chamber reserves the right not to display an entry, if the entry is not considered show quality. 10. In order to be eligible for prize money, an entry may not be picked up before 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 9. If you ·would like to keep your entry you must pick it up between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m.