Story By John Mann
There was a whole room full of miniature landmarks and business on display at the Albertville Museum on Saturday, all made from gingerbread and sweets for the museum’s annual Gingerbread House Contest.
“It’s a contest we do every year and it’s become tradition,” Museum Coordinator Chelsea Harris said. “We ask community members to make gingerbread houses and we encourage Albertville buildings but it’s not required. We have four categories for elementary, middle and high school and adult with first and second place for each category.”
The biggest rule for each of the entries was that all parts of the house be edible, and there were a variety of new and historic buildings and businesses represented. Some of the houses were made to represent staples like Albertville High School, with one entry even recreating the football field in licorice and another featuring an image of principal Steven Hudgins. Harris noted that the school’s Culinary Department was a big contributor in the high school category, giving students a chance to hone their baking and cake decorating skills.
The winner for the high school category was a recreation of the Lucas Cinema movie theater, with second place being a gingerbread Rail Depot. First place for the middle school was a new one for the contest with a model of the recent Thanksgiving/Christmas parade, with the crowd made up of cookie teddy bears. First place for the adult category also featured something new with the use of edible paper, which even included QR codes for people to get more information about its subject the Not Alone house, which provides assistance for foster children and families. The Albertville preschool was the winner for the kids category while an original gingerbread house with an open roof showing the interior was second place. There was also a People’s Choice Award voted on by the community, which went in a landslide to a model based on La Michoacanita ice cream.
“We definitely got tons of entries this year,” Harris said. “Looking at the tables it was very impressive the volume of houses we had submitted. I was really excited to see the newer stores and restaurants represented it really adds a modern twist and shows how our city is growing and adding new places. I thought one of the most clever entries was City Hall, but after the tornado in 2011, that was very creative.”
The Albertville Museum has had a very successful year for it’s programs and attendance. During the downtown open house put on by the Chamber of Commerce over six hundred people came by to take part in Letters for Santa, and October’s Spirit Walks which took place over the entire month saw great attendance as well. The museum had a month long transportation exhibit, a pottery show and was a part of the county-wide Museum Day. The museum also expanded its hours, opening on Saturday to give visitors more opportunities to come by and see the collection.
“I know a lot of people think that a museum means one thing but we try to have as much variety as possible,” Harris said. “We want people to come visit us and maybe take a selfie with the Catfish Cabin sign. We want to be accessible to every generation and serve as a community hub.:
The Albertville Museum is located at 101 West Main Street and is open five days a week from 9 am to 4 pm, closing on Sunday and Monday. The museum currently has a gift shop with Christmas gifts available and offers a rental space for events like class reunions. More information about the museum can be found on their Facebook page under “Albertville Museum.”
