Burnt Island Light in gingerbread … spectacular!
Bethany Trussell, left, and Mary Jo Marquis with their gingerbread Burnt Island Light, and visitors. Courtesy of KBIL
This Burnt Island Light gingerbread's red light flashes every six seconds, just like the one in the real tower of granite and brick on the Island. Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Bethany Trussell, left, and Mary Jo Marquis with their gingerbread Burnt Island Light, and visitors. Courtesy of KBIL
This Burnt Island Light gingerbread's red light flashes every six seconds, just like the one in the real tower of granite and brick on the Island. Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo Marquis
Courtesy of Mary Jo MarquisLovers of the annual Gingerbread Spectacular at the Opera House here in Boothbay Harbor saw 27 imaginative, gingery structures this past weekend. Among them was the Burnt Island Lighthouse with two deer in the scene. In case you didn't read the accompanying story next to the entry, read on.
One day over the summer a boater passing by the Island saw what he believed was a harbor seal - until the "seal" lifted her head exposing deer ears. The doe made it to the Island safely after her one-mile swim and just two days later gave birth to two fawns.
"The trio quickly became the center of island chatter," writes Mary Jo Marquis, DMR employee and Keepers of Burnt Island Light (KBIL) board member, "including where they napped, which flower beds they sampled, and how stunning they looked against the sunset. As the summer went on the fawns lost their spots and strutted around the Island like they owned the place. And then, just as abruptly as they arrived, the doe and her newly grown fawns slipped back into the water and returned to the mainland leaving behind a few nibbled shrubs, great stories, and the running joke that Burnt Island now needs a floating 'Deer Crossing' sign!"
This event prompted Marquis and fellow DMR employee Bethany Trussell to create a gingerbread tower and grounds - complete with the visitors - for the annual Gingerbread Spectacular held last weekend at the Opera House. The finished ginger was aptly named, "The Deer That Needed A Vacation."
"The doe’s magical visit to the island over the summer captured that spirit, inspiring us to convey the experience in a storybook-style holiday setting with the gingerbread version," Marquis said.
The project took just two days to complete. A battery-operated tealight became the light for the tower, and hard red candy was crushed and melted for the red windows atop the Burnt Island's light.
"The impetus for this project grew from a deep love for the island and lighthouse, a treasured place within the community," said Marquis, "and from the remarkable partnership between the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Keepers of Burnt Island Light in preserving and sharing its story through public educational and recreational opportunities."
