NORWALK, CT – A Newtown woman’s gingerbread lighthouse is the sixth-place winner in the “Festival of Lighthouses Contest” at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.
Donna Kern Ball finishes “in the money” for the fourth straight year, taking home $150 for her “Gingerbread – Man – Kind” lighthouse. Her 2014-15 entry was a large round beacon of white frosting, festooned on multiple levels with gingerbread figures, gingerbread hearts, candy canes, ribbon candy and peppermints. Painstaking pipings of frosting on the gingerbread figures cast them in all sorts of professions – sailor, musician, athlete, firefighter and more.
Ball won the contest in 2011-12 with a lighthouse made from sugar cookies, came in sixth in 2012-13 with a crocheted beacon, and took home the second-place prize last year with a design made from Twinkies®, Ho Hos® and other Hostess snack cakes.
The Aquarium’s 13th annual holiday display ran from Nov. 22 to Jan. 19, and featured 24 large model lighthouses built by local artists, students and hobbyists. The contest’s winners are chosen by Aquarium visitors, who enjoy the lighthouses in the aquarium galleries and then vote for their favorite. More than 12,000 votes were tallied in this most recent display, which – as always – attracted a collection of widely creative works.
At a Jan. 22 ceremony at The Maritime Aquarium, prizes also were awarded to:
• first place ($1,500) – “Black Rock,” a lighthouse made of intricately cut stone, by Pedro Davila, a mason from White Plains, N.Y.
• third place ($375) – “Frozen,” featuring characters from the Disney movie, by Amye Huizinga of Danbury.
• fourth place ($300) – “Lighthouse Island,” a crocheted lighthouse, by Margaret Phillips of Cos Cob.
• fifth place ($225) – “Seaside Bakery,” a dollhouse lighthouse, by Jo Stecker of Norwalk.
“Once again, we were able to offer Aquarium visitors a very fun and creative holiday display, all thanks to the thought and effort that our contestants put into their lighthouses,” said Chris Loynd, marketing director. “For that, we are very honored and grateful.”
Photos of all the winners can be seen at www.flickr.com/photos/Maritimeaquarium.
Entry forms for the 2015 “Festival of Lighthouses Contest” will be available on the Aquarium’s website this summer.
For more information about The Maritime Aquarium’s exhibits, IMAX® movies, programs or other offerings, go to www.MaritimeAquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700.