News
2009 Canadian Gingerbread House Championship

Nov. 17, 2009, MORRISBURG, Ont. – Upper Canada Village will host the first annual Canadian Gingerbread House Championship at its upcoming Alight at Night Festival.

Nov.
17, 2009, MORRISBURG, Ont. – Upper Canada Village will host the first annual Canadian Gingerbread House Championship at its
upcoming Alight at Night Festival, a popular holiday lights extravaganza where the village’s 40 heritage buildings are bedecked in more than a quarter million colourful lights.

The village is
hoping to attract individuals, school teams, businesses and other culinary
partners from across the region in Ontario and western Quebec to enter the
competition this year, in the hopes that it will grow to capture the attention
of entrants from other parts of the country in subsequent years. A grand prize of $1,500 plus a two-night
getaway including admission to Upper Canada Village and golf at Upper Canada
Golf Course will be awarded on Saturday, Nov. 28, along with first-, second- and third-place cash and getaway prizes in adult, teen
and youth categories.

The
deadline to register has been extended to Nov. 24; entry
fees have been waived for this inaugural event. The registration form, guidelines
and other information are available online at www.AlightatNight.ca
or by calling 1-800-437-2233 (613-543-4328 locally).

All gingerbread
house creations will be showcased against a stunning, holiday forest-like
setting inside Crysler Hall for the duration of the Alight at Night
Festival, which runs from Nov. 28 to Jan. 3.

The gingerbread theme doesn’t end with the competition. Another Village building will be transformed into a life-size gingerbread House, where visitors of all ages can
indulge in special holiday treats including homemade old-fashioned gingerbread
cookies.

Upper Canada
Village’s Alight at Night Festival draws up to 40,000 visitors a year who
partake in touring the site on foot, taking rides on horse-drawn wagons and
romantic carriages, hopping on board a life-size Toy Train, skating under the
stars, festive dining, unique shopping and more each holiday season.

Operated by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission, an
agency of the government of Ontario, Upper Canada Village is located in
Morrisburg at Exit 758 off Highway 401, 60 minutes southeast of Ottawa and 90
minutes west of Montreal and east of Kingston.