National Gingerbread House Competition at Grove Park Inn
I hope your Christmas to-do list is starting to wind down so that the true celebrating and merry-making can begin! We took a little trip to Asheville, NC over the weekend to make some Christmas memories, and I brought home some eye candy to share with you, too!
Because we love Biltmore, we stopped in for a couple of hours to see the house once again all decked out for Christmas.
And then, we headed to Grove Park Inn for the first time. Maybe one day we’ll get to go back and I’ll take some more pics for you, but it’s gorgeous! We had dinner at one of the restaurants, the Edison, and it’s hard to say whether we loved the food or the atmosphere the most. (I highly recommend the Pretzel Bread and the Fish ‘n Chips!)
But what I really can’t wait to show you is the amazing National Gingerbread House Competition. Maybe you’ve heard of this, but every year since 1991, The Grove Park Inn has held a gingerbread competition and it has turned into a showcase of edible artwork that is just unbelievable. The entries are not limited to only gingerbread, but every part of each design must be edible.
There are adult, teen, and child categories, and each and every one did an amazing job this year. I snapped some pics of a few of our favorites so you can be amazed as well. (I’ve included the name of the artists in the photo with their designs.)
In the youth category, we loved these:
And in the teen category, here are some more of our faves:
And the entries in the adult division just get more amazing…
The first place prize went to this artist for her panda bear design. So hard to believe this entire piece is edible!
But our family favorite was the “Fantastical Christmas Contraption”, complete with the most detailed confectionary characters imaginable.
My kids went nuts over seeing some of their favorite toys in miniature form all over this design.
I wish the pics could actually capture the details. Every one of the entries was a truly a work of art!
If you’re anywhere near Asheville from now through January 2, I recommend checking out the Gingerbread Competition at Grove Park Inn. Click here to visit their website and get more info! Have you been here before?
Hope you enjoyed this little tour. Now who’s inspired to bake some gingerbread?
M
December 23, 2013 @ 5:53 pm
I'll be close to Asheville, and I think my inlaws would love to see this as much as my dh and I would.
Grove Park Inn is a special place to us anyway. My dh took me to the amazing buffet restaurant (a whole room of just dessert!) the day we got engaged. Then his company gave us a gift certificate to the restaurant when they found out we were honeymooning in Asheville.
Dh and I want to spend some more time in Asheville and stay at the Grove Park Inn. They have some incredible deals during the off seasons. Also, if you're going to spend more than one day or take multiple trips to Biltmore in a year, check out their year passes. They were cheaper than tickets for more than one day, and there are special benefits. We want to take all the behind the scenes tours–something we couldn't afford before, but it's intrigued us for years.
I can't wait to visit the gingerbread house display. I'd love to enter one year. That would be so cool.
Julie
December 23, 2013 @ 9:28 pm
Great! You definitely will love it! And yes, we have season passes to Biltmore. It was a great deal for us, especially because kids 16 and under are free!