We only have room to display 20 gingerbread creations, so registration is on a firstcome

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Brianne Myra Shepherd
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1 2 nd Annual Gingerbread Architecture Challenge THE CHALLENGE Showcase your architectural, engineering, and culinary skills and compete to win $500 in the Center s second annual Gingerbread Architecture Challenge! The gingerbread structures will be displayed at the Center for Architecture and Design in the weeks leading up to Christmas and the winner will be determined by popular vote. ELIGIBILITY This competition is open to individuals and teams of any size. Entries can come from anyone including designers, architects, chefs, or just passionate foodies and makers! There is no age limitation, though entrants under the age of 18 must partner with at least one adult teammate. Registration Entrants must register (for FREE!) by 11:59 PM on Sunday, November 5 th, 2017 via We only have room to display 20 gingerbread creations, so registration is on a firstcome basis. NEW When you register, you will be required to attach a sketch, rendering, or collage of the structure/display you intend to submit. The quality of your sketch or rendering will not be held against you so don t be shy about your drawing skills! We just want to see the direction you intend to go and the creative ideas you have for your entry. REQUIREMENTS Size + Structure Your display must include at least one architectural structure (real or fantastical). Additional environmental elements are encouraged (trees, mountains, lakes, etc.). Structures and all decorations must fit within the following dimensions: 20 wide x 14 deep x 24 tall. You are not required to fill this entire space. Your structure and environment may include lighting, motion, water/fog features, etc. Display Base All elements of your entry must be mounted to a rigid base which measures exactly 20 wide x 14 deep. Base thickness is up to you. Bases do not have to be rectangular, but must be exactly 20 wide at their widest point and exactly 14 deep at their deepest point. Smaller bases are not permitted, even if you structure and display on the base is tiny. Structures may be mounted on the base in any orientation, just be aware that one of the long sides of the base will be facing a wall when exhibited at the Center.

2 Edibility Everything visible on your display must be made of 100% edible materials, with the exception of window coverings (see below) and the edges of your base. You are not limited to using only gingerbread as a sheathing/structural material in your display, but at least one visible piece of gingerbread must be included in your display. The internal structure may include non-edible materials, including (but not limited to) cardboard, wood, electronics, glue, and tape. Walls which are completely covered in frosting can be made of anything cardboard, gingerbread, etc. While an edible solution would be preferred, windows or open doors may be sealed from the inside with paper, cellophane, Plexiglas, or any other translucent/transparent material. If windows and/or doors can be seen through, everything visible through them must be made of edible materials. DELIVERY + DISPLAY Your architectural creation must be free-standing and ready to display (final assembly will be allowed on-site, such as stacking/gluing pre-built components to build a tall tower that wouldn t fit in your car fully assembled). Entries will be displayed on tables up against a wall, so one long side of your creation will not be easily visible, depending on the orientation of your structure and environment on your base. Structures must be delivered on Saturday, December 2 nd, Your team will be assigned one of two drop-off windows, either 10:00am 12:00pm or 12:00pm 2:00pm. Installation must be completed within the 120-minute window you are assigned. Structures will be on display from December 2-22, Gingerbread structures do not generally hold up well and begin to crack and warp within 2-3 weeks. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will dispose of your gingerbread creation at 6pm on Saturday, December 23 rd. If you intend to pick up your gingerbread creation, you will need to tell us beforehand and do so on Friday, December 22 nd or Saturday, December 23 rd. JUDGING + AWARDS The winning entry will be selected by popular vote the entry with the most votes wins! Votes will be accepted online (via the Center s website) or in person by paper ballot, December The first-place winning team or individual, as determined by the most public votes, will win the $500 prize. In the case of a tie, the cash prize will be divided equally among the winning teams or individuals. Checks will be mailed out within 4 weeks from the end of the competition. No additional cash prizes will be awarded, though additional honorary prizes may be granted at the discretion of the Center for Architecture and Design s Gingerbread Committee. QUESTIONS If you have any questions about this competition, please reach out to David Bender, Associate Director, at x107 or David@PhiladelphiaCFA.org.

3 TIPS + HINTS You MAY use a gingerbread kit if you re not feeling ready to bake your own gingerbread o Try putting the kit together in a unique way or combine two kits to make a mansion! Always let your fresh-baked gingerbread dry fully before assembling and decorating it gingerbread used for building should season about 2 weeks before being used to build with so it can dry out. Dry gingerbread is stronger and will support more weight. o If you're pressed for time, or if you're building a small house, you can get away with letting it dry for 24 hours, just be sure to limit exposure to moisture and humidity by carefully choosing where you leave the pieces to dry. After initial baking, let the pieces sit for a day, then rebake them at 250 degrees for ten minutes to dry the dough out a little more. Before assembling, spray all sides of all your gingerbread pieces with two light coats of a clear, matte acrylic spray. This helps keep out moisture and reduces warping and cracking. You re not limited to using the traditional Royal Icing to glue your structure together. Some people use a hot sugar syrup, which works, too. You can even use a glue gun and hot glue sticks to get the job done as long as it s all covered with frosting and candy, it doesn t break the rules. Consider tinting your icing with food coloring to match your gingerbread or another complimentary color that stands out. You re not limited to white icing! If you're going to be doing intricate piping work or decorating on your walls, it's much easier to do it before you assemble the house while your gingerbread pieces are flat. Keep that in mind so you can decide whether you want to decorate before or after assembly. Plan ahead to give yourself assembly time! Allow the assembled house to dry overnight (8 hours) before adding the roof on top. Then give your roof several hours (up to overnight) to dry before adding shingles or decorations on top. The larger the house, the longer you need to let it dry for structural integrity. For large houses, it can take up to 48 hours of assemble/dry/assemble phases. Very small houses can be completely decorated and assembled in one day, but plan ahead because they always take longer than you think they will! Brace your structure as it dries, using soup cans and/or straws. Royal Icing generally takes several hours (sometime overnight) to set up, so don t let your pieces slide around as you re waiting. Did you know there are foodsafe markers you can use to draw on your gingerbread creation? These work especially well if you completely coat your walls and roofs with a coat of thinneddown Royal Icing to make smooth, white walls.

4 RECIPE Never made gingerbread for building? Try this recipe, Das Pfefferkuchenhauschen (or The Never- Fail Gingerbread Recipe), direct from Germany. Makes about 1 baking sheet of dough: 1 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 cup molasses 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1. Cream shortening and sugar in a stand mixer. Add egg and molasses. 2. Add vinegar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add flour gradually. (You may need to knead in the last cups of flour by hand. 3. Pour 1/4 cup or so of vegetable oil on a large, heavy baking sheet with sides (a half-sheet pan about 18 x 13 by 1 high is perfect). Roll out dough with rolling pin until it fills the baking sheet on all sides and meets the corners. (A standard size rolling pin will fit perfectly across the width of the baking sheet.) You should keep adding vegetable oil to the top of the dough as necessary to help it roll out slick and smooth. Remove any excess dough that does not disappear beneath the rolling pin and mesh flatly into the pan. Use that dough in another pan of gingerbread. 4. Place your pattern pieces on top of the gingerbread and cut gingerbread house pieces in gingerbread using the tip of a knife (wipe the knife clean in between cuts, if necessary) and leave them in the pan. Cut your pieces to maximize the available space just like you would if you were using cookie cutters to cut sugar cookie dough. Pieces can share sides without space in between. You don't need to separate the pieces out from the surrounding scraps at this time (in fact, it's better to leave them in to keep the gingerbread from spreading). Just be sure to cut all the way through to the pan as cleanly and precisely as possible. 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon cloves 5 cups pre-sifted white all-purpose flour 5. Bake at 350 degrees F until very well done (remember, this is for building, not for eating, and you want it dry). Depending on your oven and other factors, this can take as little as 20 minutes or as much as 35 minutes or more. 6. When you pull the pans out of the oven, retrace your design cuts in the gingerbread (if you don't, you won't be able to separate your house pieces from the surrounding scraps when the gingerbread has dried). 7. Let gingerbread cool in the baking sheets just until it's no longer too hot to handle. Carefully remove the house pieces and set on cooling racks to cool completely. Ensure the pieces do not touch each other as you want the air to be able to circulate freely to dry everything out. Now is the time to pop out the scraps,' before they become hard. Scraps' are the insides of windows or the spaces between fence rails, etc. Remove the door, but don't throw it away because you can include it later when you assemble your house a front door can be a fun part of your house to decorate! 8. Leave the gingerbread out to try. (Leaving it on cooling racks is ideal so that the air can circulate on all sides.)

5 ^ ^ ^ Tuck the top edge of this form under your base when delivering your entry ^ ^ ^ 2017 Gingerbread Architecture Challenge SUBMISSION FORM * = REQUIRED * Our Assigned Team Letter (A-W): * I Confirm Everything Visible on this Entry Is Edible (windows excepted) * I Confirm This Entry Includes At least One (1) Piece of Visible Gingerbread * I Confirm This Entry Is Mounted to A Rigid Base 20 Wide x 14 Deep, No Larger or Smaller Company or Team Name (optional): * Entry Title (required): * All Team Member Names * Address for Each Team Member (use reverse side of paper to complete list, if needed) Notes (optional: special display requests, care instructions, electricity requirements, etc.)

Make a Christmas Paper Chain!

Make a Christmas Paper Chain! Your Jacqueline Wilson Christmas Checklist! All you ll need is scissors & glue! Print out these pages, cut out the covers of the books you need to complete your collection then glue them in the spaces