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![]() Jim and Leslie Rhegness of Toledo, OH, won first-place in the adult division. Other first-place winners included Sam Marshall of Asheville, NC, in the Teen 13-17 year old age group and Lee Holland of Shelby, NC, in the Youth 12 and under category. A total of 205 contestants participated in the 11th Annual Gingerbread House Competition. As always, judging the creative creations was difficult, but Enderson�s elaborate and intricate old-time Christmas gem stole the show. �I didn�t think I�d ever win,� said Enderson, 72, who finally won the Grand Prize in her fourth visit to the National Gingerbread House Competition. �It�s a great thrill, but at my age it didn�t matter if I won or not. It�s just fun to come back here every year.�
Enderson finished in third place last year, made the top 10 in 2001, and finished second in the adult category in 2000. (First place adult winner pictured at right) The annual event has grown from a mere 23 entries in 1993 to a massive nationwide event drawing more than 200 creative displays each of the last three years. The event was staged in the resort�s Grand Ballroom. The luxury resort and spa�s gingerbread house competition has evolved into a very prestigious event. The Southeast Tourism Society has named the National Gingerbread House Competition as one of the �Top Twenty Events in the Southeast� for the last three years.
What makes this competition so irresistible is the whimsy and ingenuity displayed in the entries. Perhaps the ingenuity is inspired in part by the contest rules � every component of the houses, from the roof to the �landscaping,� must be edible. The gingerbread houses, a very popular element in The Grove Park Inn�s opulent holiday decorations, will be on display and open to the public from November 12, 2003, through January 5, 2004. The display is located on the seventh floor of the Vanderbilt Atrium. For those who want to get an early start on next year�s competition, the 12th annual event is set for Monday, November 8, 2004.
A list of all competition winners are listed below: Adult Division:
Grand Prize Mary Beth Enderson, Hampton, VA Youth 11-15 Division:
1st Place Sam Marshall, Asheville, NC Youth 10 and Under Division:
1st Place Lee Holland, Shelby, NC
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