Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Gingerbread House Contest in Charleston, SC

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The Holiday Festival of Lights Gingerbread House Competition is a beloved Lowcountry tradition and now it’s time to warm up your ovens, gather up sugar, spices, and add a spoonful of creativity to the mix to participate. Registration for the 12th Annual Holiday Festival of Lights Gingerbread House Competition is open now through November 5.

[picappgallerysingle id=”5100727″]Here are the basic rules;

Houses must be made entirely of edible materials (except the base), and cannot exceed 18” in width, length or height. Entries will be judged based on creativity, overall appearance, difficulty, and craftsmanship.

Houses can be entered in one of four different age categories – ages 6 and under, ages 7-11, ages 12-16 or ages 17 and up. The contest will be judged by a panel of 20 people, with each house judged individually in each category.

The top three entries in each category will be displayed in Santa’s Sweet Shoppe and other locations during the Holiday Festival of Lights.

Contest coordinator Marianne Bower encourages creative bakers of all ages and experience levels to participate in this fun event. She suggests the use of gingerbread house patterns to help with construction of your ginger bread house masterpiece, but not to use “all-in-one” kits.

“There are many websites out there that provide inspiration for unique and amazing creations,” said Bower. Entries must be actual “domiciles;” however, Bower says that she has seen a number of unusual gingerbread houses, including churches, trains, and once, even the Millennium Falcon from “Star Wars”.

Registration ends Friday, November 5. An award ceremony for the top winners will take place at the Park Center at James Island County Park as part of the opening of the annual Holiday Festival of Lights on November 12. The award ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m.

Click here to read more about The Holiday Festival of Lights will be open November 12, 2010 – January 2, 2011 at James Island County Park.

Participants are encouraged to sign up through the Park and Program Services Center by calling 843-795-4FUN. Or, download an application in pdf format right here.

“Art of Cuisine” Iron Chef Challenge – Bluffton, SC

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Local Chefs Compete for Top Spot at Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival On Saturday, October 24th area chefs will create mouth watering seafood dishes as part of the Iron Chef Challenge during the fifth annual Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival. (click here to read more about  Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival 2009)

Each chef will be challenged to prepare two dishes in one hour using two unknown seafood and two non-seafood ingredients provided by the festival committee.

“It’s pretty amazing to see what these chefs can prepare in such a short amount of time, outdoors, underneath a tent, says Mary Connor, Chairman of this year’s Iron Chef Challenge. “We should really appreciate the tremendous talent we have right here in the Low Country.”

The competition will be held in downtown Bluffton in “Neptune’s Galley” tent located at the Carson Cottages on Calhoun Street beginning at 11:00am. At 12:00 noon the dishes will be sampled by the judging panel and the winning dishes will be determined on the basis of taste and presentation.
In 2008 the top prize, a Traeger Pellet Grill valued at $699 from O’Neill’s Outdoor Power Equipment, was awarded to Kevin Cavanaugh then of Buffalo’s at Palmetto Bluff. 2007’s Top Chef was George Davis of Hilton Head Island’s Ocean Grille. Kevin, now of Plantation Station Catering Division, is again up for the Challenge. How about you, George?

The “Art of Cuisine” Iron Chef Challenge is part of a week long celebration of Bluffton’s unique history, cuisine, art and culture taking place October 18-25. Events showcase locally harvested seafood, Lowcountry cuisine, and area and regional artists. Also included is live music, a fishing tournament, boat tours, children’s activities, fireworks and more. Festival organizers invite both locals and tourists to discover “Where Fine Art & the Bounty of the Sea Come Together.”

Read more about Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival 2009

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