“Up” to “Star Wars,” locals donate their gingerbread houses to local businesses
Gingerbread houses — a holiday tradition on par with paper snowflakes and decorated trees, have once again paraded downtown to stores along Main Street.
A local holiday tradition, the Parade of Gingerbread Houses is organized every year by the Logan Downtown Alliance.
“They do it every year,” said Lydia Tullis, a freshman in the art department. “Local businesses house them, people in the valley volunteer to make them, they pay for the materials.”
This year eight stores along Main Street have volunteered to showcase the sugary homes, made and donated by members of the community.
“We just like to cruise around downtown and check out all the shops and walk around and see them and support it so everybody does it,” said Taia Mcginnis, a Cache Valley resident.
The event is a great way to support the local businesses that give downtown Logan the historic and independent business feel to it, said Pat Mcginnis, Taia’s husband.
“I mean, that’s why we come,” he said, “because it’s a good part of our community, so you kind of have to support it and it helps remind you to come to theses stores and support it. I think it’s a good thing.”
Each gingerbread house has a different, creative design. Some were based on movies like “Star Wars” and “Up,” and others others took the form of a treehouse, a barn, a garden and more.
“This one is probably the most elaborate I’ve ever seen,” said Nate Bosworth, co-manager of U&I Furniture, “and she’s got a lot of cool faces and owls and I can see like the little elf guy here on the side. She’s really talented as far as that kind of looks.”
Bosworth said the artist of the gingerbread house in his store had finished the house the night before she had to go in for breast cancer surgery.
“Apparently she stayed up really late doing it, like the night before it was like due here or whatever,” he said, “I guess it got her mind off the surgery.”
Materials used to make and decorate the gingerbread houses were as varied as their artist’s designs. Rice crispy treats, chocolate, coconut, and jelly beans were common in addition to the traditional gingerbread.
Brianna Anderson, employee and architect of the gingerbread house at Stork’s Landing, chose to recreate the house from “Up” at the North Pole entirely out of rice crispy treats and gum.
“My husband and I made the house, but there were other people that put money in towards it so that we could make it, so we put their names on it too,” she said. “We used close to 250 pieces of gum. It was pretty fun though, we used so much stuff.”
The gingerbread houses will be on display until Dec. 31, Anderson said, and visitors are able to vote for their favorites. Three winners will be chosen at the end of the month.
“it’s just a fun local event and a lot of work and creativity that goes into them,” said Tullis, “and it’s just fun to get into the Christmas season and look at them, a nice walk down Main Street.”
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