Gingerbread!

We went to The National Gingerbread competition in Ashville North Carolina this week. It was huge. I am not sure how many houses were entered but I took well over 100 photos. Most of the houses are on display at the Grove Park Inn. There are more at The Grove Arcade. The first photo was taken inside the Grove Park Inn, I believe this is set up for a professional photographer to take photos of guests. The photographer was on break so we climbed in for the photo. Maybe it will be a future Christmas card. The Grove Park itself is a lovely old Arts

and Crafts style Inn. The interior

is full of antiques. It is well worth a visit on its own. It is expensive however, the Gingerbread competition is open to the public for free Monday thru Thursday. This gave us an opportunity to check the place out.

The neighborhood around the inn is full of life size houses that could easily model for the competition. The second photo is one great example.

The third is the Inn itself. It is huge and I had some difficulty getting a good photo of it. This one at least shows why this is such a great venue for

Gingerbread. The inn sets high on the hillside and
has amazing views from almost every direction. This photo was taken from a wing of the inn. You can see the reflection of one of the Arts and Crafts style lamps that are placed throughout.

The Grove Arcade is more centrally located in downtown Ashville. The exterior is fun and a just a little castle like. The interior is even better. This photo shows why it is another great place to display Gingerbread.

I had a very hard time deciding which gingerbread houses to use. My favorite is the cupboard near the end. (That is why it is a bigger photo) My sweet Hubby's favorite and a close contender for mine, is the one called "Welcome Home" There are two large photos of this one. So many details! It is amazing.

If you hold the cursor over each photo, you should be able to see what I named it. If I know the name of the artist, it is in the title.

Since there were too many favorites, I tried to show the great variety.

This display is available for viewing until Jan 11, 2009. If you are feeling inspired, there will be another competition next November. For more info go to: www.groveparkinn.com

Last but not least, this is my inspiration, all dressed up for Christmas. If you look closely, I am on the balcony.

Happy Holidays!

Kat