Date Of Visit: December 27, 2017 (the annual display is up during the last week of each year)
Location: Springfield Museums, 21 Edwin St, Springfield, MA
Parking: There is free parking in the main parking area for about 50 cars and an overflow lot across the street
Website: Gingerbread In Space
Highlights: Gingerbread houses with a twist
Tips:
- Today, December 31, 2017, is the last day to view these mouth watering homes
Gingerbread and sci-fi. Sounds like a pretty good combination to me.
Gingerbread houses, a staple of the holiday season in New England, were mixed with sci-fi themes to put a new twist on holiday decor.
The gingerbread competition was broken up into three categories: Professional Division: Bake Shops, Caterers, Restaurants, or Professional Bakers, Adult Division: Individual or group adult, age 18 & up and Youth Division: Individual or group youth, age 8-17. Although the artists could use non-food items in their displays, all of the exteriors of the displays were made entirely out of gingerbread or some other food or food substance.
Christmas trees and sci-fi themed murals lined the walls of the room where the gingerbread houses were kept.
The gingerbread house competition is an annual event the museum holds. They will be on display until December 31. Although there are a few displays that were created by participants outside of the area, almost all of the displays were created by people in the western MA area from places such as Wilbraham, Springfield and Feeding Hills.
One thing I noticed about the displays were how hard it would be able to tell the adult and youth displays apart. The youth division participants (perhaps with a little help from mom and dad) did a great job!
The first group of gingerbread houses on display are the gingerbread houses from the youth division .
“The Gingerbread in Space” depicts a gingerbread rice krispies moon with a gingerbread rocket and a floating gingerbread man with a star background. The artist used crispies, wafers, gum drops, peach rings, Nerds, Smarties, M&M’s, candy corn, sugar, rice, cinnamon sticks, life savers and candy canes.
“Moonwalk” is an astronomy themed display. The American flag is made out of Twizzlers with a pretzel stick holding up the flag. The planet Earth is held up by a pretzel stick and is made out of Airheads.
The moon and its base are made out of gingerbread cake mix. A home made gingerbread house is on the moon with a glass-dome covering over the gingerbread house. Outside the house, the gingerbread man is taking his god for a walk and the gingerbread son is in the space car.
“Imagine” was inspired by the magic of imagination and the power of literature to evoke it.
The gingerbread planets were made by using globe pans. Cotton candy, food coloring, frosting with food coloring were used as paint, gum paste and modeling chocolate were used for decorating. The tower is made of gingerbread.
“Blast Off” was inspired by the artist’s love of space. The main body of the rocket is made of gingerbread with fondant accents and red hots rivets. The top of the rocket has a peach ring and two gummy candies. The smoke from the blast off is made from cotton candy and the rocket is flying in a universe full of giant Jawbreaker planets and candy stars. The universe is made of fondant.
“Somewhere Out There” was inspired, in part, by the movie Avatar.
The display is mostly made of gingerbread or royal icing coated with silver edible food coloring. Modeling chocolate and Rice Krispies treats were used to make the mountains. Fondant was used to create some of the colorful alien forms. Isomalt and modeling chocolate were used to create waterways and tubes. Special icing was used to create the flowers. Silver sprinkles and candies were used to accent the buildings.
As you might expect, “The Star Destroyer” was largely inspired by the movie Star Wars
The planet was made from spherical section of fondant, covered in a gingerbread shell and painted in frosting. triangular sections of gingerbread, glued together with frosting, make up the ships.
“Forest Moon Of Endor (Yub Nub!)” is a nod to the Ewoks home from Return Of The Jedi. Subtitled as, “Yub nub, eboka chu toota!” (roughly translated in Ewok to “This is the home of the Ewoks”), this display is made of Mentos, gingerbread, chocolate Teddy Grahams, Twizzlers, fondant, icing, pretzel rods.
“Hopper And Eleven;s Cabin” was inspired by the hit Netflix show, Stranger Things. (I’m so glad the names and descriptions on this displays explained where some of these phrases came from) This display is made of gingerbread, pretzels, ice cream cones, royal icing, green sprinkles, Wilton spray icing, licorice, mini Shredded Wheats.
“Santa’s Elves” is a display based on a holiday scene featuring Santa’s elves in their workshop.
The display is made of gingerbread, pretzel sticks, Sour Patch Kids, Nerds, Tootsie Pops and royal icing.
“Silver 6” is based on a novel about a giant robot attack.
This display is made of gingerbread, fondant, licorice, Hershey bars, Sour Patch Kids, marshmallow and Royal icing.
“Main Street, Mars Christmas Morning” depicts a Mars town on Christmas day. Since no one has been to Mars, the creators of this display imagined what Christmas would look like on Mars.
This display, which was a group youth effort by the Girl Scout Troop 11248 in Feeding Hills, MA, is made of gingerbread, royal icing, Jolly Rancher’s and leftover Halloween candy. The alien residents are made of Rice Krispie treats. The ground cover is made of flour. The roads are paved with Starlight mints.
“The Battle Of Endoe” was inspired by the movie, Return Of The Jedi.
The shelter and the trees are made of gingerbread. The tops of the trees are made of chocolate covered with fruit stems and green colored Rice Krispies, modeling chocolate, gum paste and assorted candies. The platforms and roof are made from fondant. The vines are made of green candy apple licorice.
“Stary Seuss Night By Grinch Van Gogh” was inspired by astronomy, art, the stars and sky and of course, Springfield native, Dr. Seuss.
This display is made of gingerbread, frosting, fondant, fudge and other food ingredients.
“My Life As A Teenage Robot” was based on a science fiction story, XJ-9.
This display is made of fondant, gingerbread, purple Nerds, Mike And Ikes and Royal icing.
“Empire Strikes NASA” was created by eight members of Girl Scout Troop 20559 from Feeding Hills, MA. The back story to this display is that the Empire has learned of water bears, which NASA has created. These “water bears” are able to exist in space. Will NASA be able to defend these creatures? Or, will they fall into the evil clutches of the Empire?
The buildings are made out of gingerbread using various cookie cutters for gingerbread decorations. Darth Vader is made out of fondant. Various candies and frosting were used to create the parking lot and the decorations. Marshmallow Stormtroopers were decorated with an edible decorating pen.
“Yoda’s Hut” was inspired by the Star Wars series of films, particularly The Empire Strikes Back, and by some friends of the artist who had submitted a display last year.
This display is made out of gingerbread, fondant, poured sugar, candy canes, brownie brittle, caramel bits and Rice Krispie treats.
“Elf Of The North” was inspired by a fantasy movie.
The display is made out of candy canes, taffy, maple syrup, sugar, pretzels, gumdrops, ice cream cones, fondant and other candy.
Adult division:
“UFO Rest Stop” is made of a gingerbread UFO that was painted with a colored sugar glaze. The leg supports are made out of Cow Tales candy. The asteroid landscape is hand-sculpted gingerbread. The aliens were made out of fondant. In the cockpit are computers made out of Chicklit gum.
The artist of this gingerbread house said, “UFO sightings have always been a part of science fiction culture.”
“Wall-E and Eve” is made out of structural gingerbread. Frosting, fondant and various candies were used for details and coloring.
The artist said the idea of this gingerbread house display was inspired by the movie WALL-E but more importantly by the theme of WALL-E and EVE looking out for each other and that, “taking care of each other is the most important thing we can do.”
“Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me” is made of frosting, edible paint, glitter, pretzels, mints, M&M’s, sprinkles, Frosted Mini Wheat cereal, peppermint and cookies.
“Alien Spaceship” was inspired by the artists’ overall love of anything sci-fi and the show The Orville. This display was created by a mother and son team.
The spaceship is made of gingerbread over Rice Krispies treats which were coated with vanilla frosting and silver cake gems. The windows striping on the ship and the sky were all made with icing and food coloring. The candies on the ship are Skittles, Sixlets, Mini Starbursts and Gobstoppers. The lights on the ship are made of citrus gummies and the aliens are Sour Patch Kids. Edible cake decorations were used for the stars and Necco Wafers with Pixie Stick powder comprise the comets.
“WALL-E and EVE’s First Christmas Together.” WALL-E is constructed from gingerbread, icing, fondant and sugar work. Eve is made out of Rice Krispy treats and fondant.
The name of this display, “Don’t Panic”, came from the Douglas Adams book The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Universe. The characters are made of gum paste. The roofs are made of black licorice. Gingerbread, candy canes, rock candy, fabric, edible paper, sour apple strings, colored sprinkles, decogel, Starlight candies, gum drops, ice cream cones and other foods make up the rest of the display.
“Signs Of Christmas” is largely based on the movie Signs and a science fiction story with a holiday twist.
The ingredients used to make the display are Graham Crackers, Royal icing, fondant, buttercream frosting, coconut flakes, gumdrops, spiral mints and sugar sprinkles.
“The Time Machine” is based on the book and film(s) of the same name.
The display is made of gingerbread, pasta, fondant, Rice Krispy treats, coconut, gum paste, gumballs, sprinkles and Mike And Ikes.
The vision of “Magical Moments” was to create “stained glass” windows and shining sugar creations.
This display is made of sugar, corn syrup, marshmallows, candy corn, candy canes, Halloween chocolates, lollipops, sprinkles, Tootsie Rolls and gingerbread.
“When Worlds Collide” is an homage to Star Wars and the famous parody of Star Wars, Space Balls. In an attempt to evade the evil Dark Helmet, The Eagle 5 Space RV hyper spaced to the wrong destination and ended up in the atmosphere of Tatooine where C3PO, R2D2 and BB8 were there to greet them.
The display is made of gingerbread and an assortment of candies.
“Merry Droidmas” is a homage to the Star Wars characters R2D2 and BBB8.
This display was made out of sugar sheets, modeling chocolate, royal icing, licorice and chocolate candies.
Professional division:
“Baking Up Galactic Fun” was created by Chef Janice Desmarais. It is made of fondant, crushed, candies, crackers, cereals, royal icing and gingerbread. And, yes, as the photos suggest, the lights do blink. Janice is the head chef at Japonaise Bakery in Brookline, MA.
“Out Of This World Magical Christmas” is a message of joy and peace and love. The monster and friends are shining light of Christmas on the world.
This display is made of gingerbread, frosting, candies and lights.
“Winter Wizards Magic Corn Farm They Came From Outer Space” is the creme de la cream (pun very much intended) of the competition.
The artist said he was inspired the movies The Day The Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He wanted to included a farm setting, replete with a crop circle which was left behind by the spaceship in the display.
lThis display was made by a participant who creates gingerbread displays every year for the competition. One of the staff workers at the museum told me it took several people to carry it carefully to the room (up a flight of stairs mind you). The artist, Eric Hirsh from Mystic, CT, makes the general shape of the gingerbread display. Then, when the museum tells him the particular theme each year, he tailors his display to the particular theme.
The display is made out of Mike And Ikes, Twizzlers, Kit-Kat, black sesame seed, Skittles, black licorice, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, gummy bears, candy corn, Harvest Mix, Mini Oreos, gumballs, candy canes, Hershey bars, Jolly Rancher lollipops, ice cream cones, frosting and gingerbread.
You could vote for a display from each division and there was a sheet for children, or anyone really I suppose, to look for and check off different aspects from all of the displays. For instance, one of the questions asks how many WALL-E’s are in the exhibit. It’s a great way to get children more involved and make the exhibit even more fun!
2017 has been a great year blogging! I have met some very interesting and amazing people, and, of course, dogs! I wanted to thank everyone who has read my posts, allowed me to photograph them and their dogs and for all of the support this year! I look forward to sharing many more of my adventures and experiences in the upcoming year! Here’s to a happy, healthy and successful 2018!
A great way to start of the new year would be to check out my Facebook page and consider joining my page!
New England Nomad 