Holy Gingerbread Spectacular! The inventive gingerbread architects among us did not disappoint at the annual event at the Opera House last weekend, from a Faberge egg to the Cheshire Cat to a bust of Adonis.

This year I got to see the show through the eyes of a judge along with Lorie Demers, Kit Sherrill, Trish Monroe and Doug Fraher. First off, we had a rockin' good time. But, like Cathy (Sherrill) tells everyone at The Dough Ball where the awards are announced, it isn't as easy as it looks.

After getting a complimentary beverage, category sheet, and judge's badge, we set out to check out the 26 entries. The time — and patience — it must take to make these works of art …

Take the Gingerbread Village; 17 little houses each with a different roof and walkway connecting to the village center where a decorated Christmas tree stood surrounded by teeny little gingerbread kids. Hot chocolate-sized marshmallows, gum drops, chocolate chips, M&M's, Necco wafers … painstakingly placed by Jessica Nadeau and her daughter Pauline and their mom/grandmother Rosemary Bourette.

Rosemary said the idea for the village was 4-year-old Pauline's right down to the Christmas tree in the center of the village and the toadstools the gingerbreads sat on ... (hey, her mom is the art teacher at BRES … it's in the genes!)

“I started picking up candy before Thanksgiving and we started working on it the weekend after the holiday and the weekends after,” Rosemary said. “It was fun. Three generations building memories. And, believe it or not, I still have a huge container of candy left, so if you have a sweet tooth ...”

“Too Many Cookies.” This one was another entry with many, um, materials. It was a humorous gingerbread that had Santa stuck headfirst in the chimney and an opening in the roof allowing a glimpse of the gingerbread houses under construction inside.

“Christmas at the Cabin” was a traditional, detailed gingerbread with smoke coming out of the chimney and stacked pretzel logs for a fire outside. Very sweet. Lying next to it was a Flat Stanley we later learned was done by a 3-year-old! “Stanley” was unexpected, but not as unexpected as the bust of Adonis. Hmmm... Greek God … Christmas …. Yes. Indirectly. Adonis was the heart throb of Aphrodite. One day Adonis is out hunting and is fatally wounded by his prey, a wild boar. The Goddess of Love hears his cries of pain and rushes to him. As his blood flows to the earth, anemones, red anemones rise and bloom. Fast forward a few centuries — Christians believed the anemones symbolized the blood of Jesus Christ. An unexpected and mythological (or not) treat, this one.

“Not Quite Over Halloween” was a gingerbread complete with a tiny cemetery outside the main house adorned with the head of Frankenstein and a small Count Dracula outside, complete with tiny white fangs. Near it was “Bienvenue.” The ferris wheel, with the chocolate sugar wafer seats and lil gingerbread people on a ride, fairly screamed “look at me!” — or maybe that was the gingerbreads on the ride … The trees were fascinating with different candy bits and bobs.

“Ginger's Hot Yoga/Burn Baby Burn” depicted gingerbreads exercising so hard they were probably sweating sugar! A couple gingerbreads, in what looked to be a sauna (or a tanning booth?) were literally burnt. Loved it, but it wasn't eligible for an award — it was built by Cathy Sherrill with Matt Hurley.

The Most Spectacular, “We're All Mad Here,” featured a quite large, quite detailed Cheshire Cat springing forth from the Mad Hatter's hat, surrounded below by mushrooms of various entreating colors and shapes, flowers … It was a gingerbread that made this “Alice in Wonderland” fan smile from ear to ear … Cheshire Cat style …

Lighting was used in a few of the entries this year, including the selected “Most Obsessive Compulsive” gingerbread, Sugar Street Bakery. The detail! Beginning with the multi-paned windows to the details on the tiny gingerbread houses inside — just divine. Designer/contractor Mrs. Eastman of Lisbon Falls said she had to special order the walls for the tiny houses in the bakery that she then put together and decorated. The gorgeous design work on the roof, detailing on the outside of the bakery — including the icing gingerbread (of the Victorian kind) — everything about this entry screamed obsessive compulsive!

But, then, all gingerbread builders have to be a bit obsessive compulsive — it's just a matter of degree. Lucky us!

We made the rounds together and separately, came together as a group again … I can't recall the details of our thought process, but I do recall every one of those entries charmed all five of us.

To recap, here are the award winners: Best Traditional Gingerbread House Design - “The Love Shack” - Addie Barter (age 6), Most Creative: “Faberge Egg” - Shelia Wiken, Best Holiday Spirit: “Santa’s Ride” - Lee and Nancy Stoddard, Most Obsessive Compulsive: “Sugar Street Bakery” - V. Eastman, Best Representation of a Landmark: “Burnt Island Lighthouse” - Paul and Louise Cowan, Most Hilarious: “Catch of the Holi-day” - Martha H. Cowdery, Best Landscaping: Winter Wonderland - Octavia Aurora (age 7), NEW Category: Most Timely: “Cuckoo Clock, Holiday Style” - Wendy & Al Bellows, NEW Category: Most Unexpected: “Adonis” - Beth Long & Deena Carafelli (Rockland), Most Ingredients Used: Gingerbread Village - The Nadeau Bakers: Jessica Nadeau, Pauline and Rosemary Bourette, Most Spectacular: “We’re All Mad Here” - Susan Brackett and Bob Eisele.

And the entries by Robin & Robert Jordan, Bonnie McKinney, Margaret Hoffman, Coastal Popcorn, Katie Russell, Shantel Perry, Jasper Jackson & Ed Harrington, Pandy Dickinson, Cathy Sherrill & Matt Hurley, Wendy & Paul Johnson, Lisa Markowitz, Millie Santiago & Jim Gagnon, Diane Randlett and Michaela Marden (17) of Bingham (awarded the Marco Polo Award for travel), all made this Gingerbread event spectacular. What a show!