Camille Naredo

Article (news)

giant gingerbread village

Reuters Wires

A giant gingerbread village containing hundreds of confectionary structures is on display for the holidays at the Shops at Columbus Circle, an indoor mall in New York City.Gingerbread Lane artist and creator Jon Lovitch, a former executive chef, said this is his 30th year making the village.&quot;Behind me is 720 houses. The existing Guinness World Record, which we hold, is 1251. Since this is over our original world record of 157 and nobody&#x27;s ever broken it, we&#x27;re still allowed to call ourselves the largest in the world,&quot; he said.Lovitch started preparing the scene nearly a year ago in his &quot;workshop,&quot; the basement of his New York City home.He goes through thousands of pounds of candy, egg whites, and flour.Despite rising prices, the baker - and bargain shopper - said he has tricks to beat the pain of sticker shock.&quot;The prices went up. No doubt,&quot; he said. &quot;You&#x27;ve got to wait these merchants out until they&#x27;re willing to give it to you cheaper. So, if you wait until certain holidays, you notice some of the prices of things come down.&quot;This year Lovitch took inspiration from the streets of New York City. The village showcases a bagel store, a pumpkin spice latte shop, a subway station, even Santa Claus riding an iconic yellow taxicab.What keeps him going year after year is the ability to bring joy to others.&quot;Regardless of what&#x27;s going on with COVID or Trump and Biden or the economy or the weather or your mortgage or whatever it is, this has a lovely escapist quality. Five, ten, 15 minutes. You tend to forget about your problems,&quot; he said. &quot;People really love it and you see the reaction on their faces.&quot;Gingerbread Lane will be on display in New York City through January 5th.At that point, Lovitch will distribute the gingerbread houses for free. What remains he will donate to pig and cow farmers in upstate New York, so their animals can enjoy a sweet treat.Then, it&#x27;s back to work starting the year-long process of creating holiday magic.<div>(Production: Justin Nathanson, Christine Kiernan)</div>

A giant gingerbread village containing hundreds of confectionary structures is on display for the holidays at the Shops at Columbus Circle, an indoor mall in New York City.

A giant gingerbread village containing hundreds of confectionary structures is on display for the holidays at the Shops at Columbus Circle, an indoor mall in New York City.

Giant NYC gingerbread village creator aims to spread 'joy' amid inflation, political challenges

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Giant NYC gingerbread village creator aims to spread 'joy' amid inflation, political challenges

Reuters

Published December 17, 2024 01:23 AM PHT

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