A beloved Syracuse holiday tradition celebrates its 40th anniversary beginning on Friday.
The Erie Canal Museum’s annual Gingerbread Gallery, which transforms the museum into a festive 19th-century streetscape, opens to the public on Friday, Nov. 21. The event runs through Sunday, Jan. 11.
Visitors of all ages can explore the colorful holiday displays seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The sweet tradition began in December 1986 when eight local bakeries provided gingerbread houses to create a nostalgic city scene of what Erie Canal-era downtown Syracuse might have looked like.
This year’s exhibit will display nearly 50 gingerbread creations crafted by both professional and home bakers from across Central New York. Themes include the Statue of Liberty and several designs celebrating the Erie Canal Bicentennial.
Cathy Mackey, of Liverpool, and her two granddaughters, Violetta, 5, and Lola, 3, will be among the new presenters.
They visited last year’s gallery and had so much fun they wondered if they could participate.
“We thought you had to be a professional,” Mackey said. “I wondered if we could do this?”
With her daughter, Amanda Darcangelo, Mackey and her two granddaughters hit the stores for supplies after having some planning sessions.
“We did a lot of experimenting, learning and creative thinking,” she said.
Mackey thought creating a unique gingerbread house allowed the girls to use the same skills they are developing at Baldwinsville’s St. Mary’s Academy, where she works as a principal.
“We did a lot of figuring,” she explained. They thought about what kind of candy to use and how much icing would be necessary to make their vision a reality.
And there was a lot of sampling too while making their “Fairy Merry Christmas” house with gardens, trees and walkways.
“I can’t say enough good things,” Mackey said. “The girls felt so good about themselves while learning.”
“It was a bonding experience.”
Heather Butler, of Palermo in Oswego County, makes her Gingerbread Gallery debut this year too.
She loved attending the event as a child. She used to make her own creations with her dad, and her love of gingerbread houses inspired her to study architecture.
“They are magical,” she said.
Using her architecture skills, she created a canal-side Victorian-style house, which would have been seen locally during the canal’s heyday.
Her tasty house has big, colorful stained-glass windows. She melted blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers to make the water of the Erie Canal.
“It is all from scratch with whatever I had in my cupboards,” Butler said.
She worked on it every night for a week, admitting her work “got a little bit out of control.”
“It got too big,” she said.
“The gallery is so fun,” Butler added. “It is magical for kids too.”
You can see these creations and many more during the gallery’s grand opening celebration on Black Friday, Nov. 28, just before the Clinton Square tree lighting. The museum will offer extended hours from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Cookies, cocoa and live music from Merry Mischief will kick off the festivities downtown from 4-6 p.m.
Also, the museum is making a special offer this year. If you become a member of the Erie Canal Museum, you will receive six complimentary tickets to the Gingerbread Gallery at no additional cost.
THE DETAILS
Where: 318 Erie Boulevard East, Syracuse
When: Friday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Extended hours until 6 on Black Friday.
How much: Adults $12, Seniors (65+) $10, Children (2–17) $5, Children under 2 are free.
See more gingerbread houses from years’ past:
