Yellowknife group trying to double donation through gingerbread competition
A group of women in Yellowknife hope to win a gingerbread creation competition to raise more money for a local charity.
The competition, held by Engineers Canada, is called the Feats of Gingerbread Holiday Challenge. The winning group will have the amount they raised for their respective charity matched, up to $10,000, by the organization.
"I had a vision that it would be called 'Christmas at the Treeline,' and we could do a mixture from the boreal forest, over to the tundra, and then kind of like represent all the things that are great about the North in one scene," said Jennie Rausch, one of the gingerbread architects, in an interview on Tuesday.
Her group's creation is about the size of two cookie sheets. It includes gingerbread versions of an igloo, a caribou and trees.
Light, originating from Christmas lights behind the structure, shines through colourful translucent panels, made from isomalt — a sugar substitute that looks like glass when melted. The panels represent the northern lights.
It took the five women five hours to build the gingerbread scene.
Rausch's group is fundraising for Food Rescue in Yellowknife, which collects food to provide to other organizations.
"Since it's food-related … we thought having a food-related charity was a really nice fit."
So far, they have raised about $2,300, and the aim is to collect at least $4,000 to potentially double if they win.
"I think it's also a time of year where we're all thinking about getting together and having the big dinner with family and having all of the food that we can think of," said Alexandra Giroux, another group member.
"I think it's important to remember that that is not the case for everybody, and food security is an issue in our community."
Their creation is currently on display in the lower level of Centre Square Mall.
