I have been a judge for Gingerbread Lane, a benefit for the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, since 2008. I don’t know why, but to me, it seems like a pretty great track record. While some reading this will say that offering less than an hour out of a day to judge gingerbread house creations may seem like, forgive the pun, a cake walk. Let me simply reply, “It is not.”
I feel really privileged to be asked along with many television and radio personalities in town as I walked up and down the Crestwood Shops. I sometimes wonder why I am chosen, but a co-worker tells me that I am the editor of KC Studio so my opinion might hold a little weight.
Holidays in Crestwood featuring Gingerbread Lane will be here soon — Dec. 4, 5 and 6. Cheri Elder, owner of Sweet Bliss Cakery, Blue Springs, has been in the cake business for more than 40 years. She is a master at wedding cakes, theme cakes and almost any sort of specialty cakes one can think of … they range from elegant and modern wedding cakes to humorous and festive party cakes.
Entering the Gingerbread Lane contest annually gives Elder a chance to stretch her creative wings and put frosting on something different. “I do nothing but cakes and the chance freedom to do what I wanted appealed to me. It was the metaphorical and literal icing on the cake,” she explains.
Elder has won several accolades during her years competing, but calls the real joy being able to take a tour of the various entries and watch children. “I am a mother to three children and grandmother to 11. Every year, we go down and look at the houses. The total joy that comes across a child’s face is the best gift.”
Elder didn’t know about CCVI when she was recruited as a contestant. “I didn’t know they had a school here in the city,” she expounds. “Several of us took a tour and saw how much help children receive. It’s just wonderful.” CCVI offers visually-impaired children skills that include a variety of real-life experiences designed to increase independence and develop self-confidence. CCVI currently serves about 212 children from both sides of the state line: 105 children in the Infant Program, 50 children in the Preschool & Kindergarten Program, plus 24 sighted peers, and 33 children in the Outreach Program.
The emphasis on aiding children at CCVI and those who come to see the gingerbread houses prove to Elder that her time and devotion to this contest is worth it. After all, she discovered her abilities in sixth grade through a drawing contest sponsored by Walt Disney that resulted in the company purchasing four of her pictures for $4 each. Her first experience with cake decorating didn’t come until her daughter’s first birthday. That daughter, Pamala Lair, now competes in the gingerbread contest too.
This year, Elder is leaning toward the theme Over the River and Through the Woods. “I am hoping to create a horse-drawn sleigh with a family heading to visit grandma. It takes roughly 100 hours to make these creations. Of course, we are working in between the normal cake orders.”
So Elder has begun looking up ideas for sleighs and other aspects of her design. “We have a lot of fun. Both Pamala and I question if we should tackle the contest again, but it’s important. Our creations are so personal to us. We like to see where our imaginations take us and sometimes we get a little carried away, but it’s all for a good cause.”
Needless to say, being a judge for this contest is just plain hard. I was impressed with every chef’s efforts and Elder’s in particular. They are the sweetest representations of Christmas. Of course, having done stories on CCVI and all the good things they do to help low vision and blind children, it’s pretty easy to be a judge and share the word about the good things are going on at CCVI and the Shops at Crestwood.
