Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on December 31, 2020.

Gumdrops, lollipops, icing and candy canes were some of the building details used on the Great Gingerbread House Contest entries, currently displayed at The Floyd Country Store and The Soda Fountain. Of course, gingerbread also figured in as a staple ingredient.

Hosted annually by The Floyd Country Store, the 2020 contest received eighteen creative contributions, including a train, a chalet, a Tutelo Indian camp, a nativity stable, a yurt, a Christmas village and a shopping mall. A couple of log cabins were made with long pretzels and one featured a water mill.

There are two fantasy castle scenes, including “Elsa’s Castle” from “Frozen” fame, which was made by the June Bug theatre group who performed the musical on the Chantilly Farm’s outdoor stage in November. Some of the houses lit up.

Divided into three contest categories, adult, youth and business, some of the houses were replicas of local businesses. “We’ve never gotten this many people to participate before,” said FCS co-owner, Dylan Locke.

Locke attributes some of the increase in entries to people being home more, due to the pandemic. “We also did a better job getting the word out and including the community more,” he said.  He explained that the intention was for the event to include a downtown walking tour with gingerbread houses displayed in the windows of other local businesses, but nothing is normal this year. “Maybe next year,” he said.

Prizes? They’re “valued at over $400 from local businesses, including the Republic of Floyd, Handmade Music School, County Sales, Maggie Gallery, Floyd Country Store, Red Rooster Coffee, Bootleg Barbecue, Wildwood Farms, Jonesburg Pepper Co., Troika Gallery, Dogtown Roadhouse, Cocoa Mia and Sacred Star & Stone,” reads the FCS Gingerbread webpage (floydcountrystore.com), where the houses can be viewed and votes can be cast for one favorite in each category.

“It’s a nice activity in Covid times because people don’t have to come into the building if they’re not comfortable. They can look through the windows,” Locke said. The gingerbread houses will be on display through January, FCS co-owner Heather Krantz said.

Note: Gingerbread House Contest winners were announced on December 23 and were The Maggie Gallery in the business category. “Honey Where’s My Boots?” by Stephanie Higgs in the Adult Category and Christmas Train by Samuel Houston in the Youth Category.

Salty and Sweet Chalet by Adrianna Voss and Regina Young was a runner-up in the Adult Category.

Check out The Floyd Country Store HERE. /Our World Tuesday