O.H.I.O.'s Ninth Annual

Gingerbread Extravaganza 2002

Thanks to the efforts of bakers, volunteers, and hundreds of visitors, O.H.I.O.'s 9th Annual Gingerbread Extravaganza was a great success. The free event was held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 15, 2002 in the Oberlin Heritage Center's Jewett House.

Here are pictures of all of 2002's gingerbread creations.

This Year's Winners Are:
Most Original "Santa's Winnebago" by Karen Reynolds, 10	Most Appetizing "Aladdin's Castle" by Gena Reynolds, 9
Most Amusing "Hurricane House" by Emily Jamba, 10, and Molly Jamba, 9	Most Creative Use of Materials "Winter Wonderland" by Jordan Bromley, 16, Susan Cain, 16, Amanda Gumble, 15, and DeJuana Plona, 16
Best First-Time Gingerbread House "Sweet Dream House" by Rionne Bourne, 14, Keisha Jefferson, 16, and Mary Williams, 17	Best First-Time Graham Cracker House "Christmas in July" by Anna Boyd, 11
Best Historic Building Replica "The Notorius BIG Ben" by Max Phinney, 14, and Scott Koenning, 14	Best Replica of a Lorain County Building "Sophronia Brooks Hall Auditorium" by Melissa Lyle
Best Graham Cracker House "Frank Lloyd Wright House" by James Fixx, 7	Best Team Entry "F.R.E.E. Homeschool Village" by Charlotte Peters, 6, Maya Peters, 3, Sarah Lesesne, 5, Judith Lesesne, 6, Christopher Lesesne, 10, Brittany Lesesne, 11, Lyndsey Schramm, 10, Bethany Anderson, 6, Caleb Mayer, 7, Gena Reynolds, 9, Karen Reynolds, 10, Eric Tucker, 10, Melissa Lyle, Melody Wright, and Kristen Bredenbeck Mayer
Best Family Entry "Winter Fishing Cabin" by C. J. Pauley, 17, Cory Pauley, 15, and Carolneen Pauley	Most Colorful "Winter Wonderland" by Kierrah Pritchett, 7, Debi Pritchett, and Lisa Reaser
Looks Most Like Where I'd Like to Live "Home 'Sweet' Home" by Peg Shimer	My Favorite of All on Display "Gingerbread Eskimo Village" by Kristen Salem, 11, and Sammi Sasaka, 11
President's Award "Fun Train Ride" by Misty Cain, 14, and Ariane Stevenson, 15	Director's Award "Pueblo" by Brett Bailey, 16, Harvey Jones, 16, and Garry Wyatt, 16

• Total number of entries: 60
• Total number of bakers: 134
• Total number of visitors: 821 people signed in; actual attendance was closer to 1000
• Total number of judges: 440 people voted on the creations
• Total number of volunteers to staff the event: 85 (plus 7 ice carvers!)
• Proceeds from silent auction: $823

Two young visitors carefully fill out their voting ballots.

On Saturday, December 7, visitors were given an extra treat when ice carvers from the Lorain County JVS demonstrated their craft in front of the Jewett House.

• "Everyone did a good job. It was hard to judge."
• "Fabulous! So much fun."
• "I love coming here and look forward to it every year!"
• "Besides Gibson's, this is the tastiest display in Oberlin."
• "A wonderful show in such a nice old house. I love coming every year to visit and I get ideas for my own gingerbread house."
• "This will ruin my diet plan."
• "This is one of the best Holiday events in Oberlin! Keep up your hard work."
• "This was fabulous! I really enjoyed it."
• "This has become our favorite Christmas tradition! We plan for it all year long!"

The Oberlin Heritage Center would like to thank everyone who made this event possible. Special thanks go to:

• All of our wonderful volunteers
• Oberlin High School teacher Donna Shurr: her wonderful students worked especially hard to help in making this event successful, with assistance from the Oberlin School Endowment Fund.
• The Oberlin Heritage Center salutes the Bennett Family from Berea for again participating - they have brought wonderful creations to exhibit each year of the nine years we have doing the event.
• Thanks to the Lorain County Joint Vocational School Culinary Arts Ice Carving Team for their wonderful ice carving demonstrations on Saturday, December 7, and thank the Oberlin Main Street program for their assistance with this.
• We are also grateful to the Oberlin Area Chamber of Commerce for providing gift certificates for award winners and to Girl Scout Troop #325 (Michele Tanaka, Leader) for their help in decorating the thank you bags presented to all the gingerbread creators.
• Thanks to all bakers who donated their houses to our Silent Auction: Silent Auction proceeds totaled $823 and are used to help pay for the costs of the event.