KOHLER – Winners have been named in the annual Gingerbread Festival at Waelderhaus.
Kohler Foundation, which manages the Waelderhaus, announced the highest vote-getter in the 28th annual event was “We Love Little Baby Jesus,” by Suzette Schermacher’s 3K class at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Plymouth.
Altogether, the festival drew 57 entries and more than 4,000 visitors in November and December.
Prizes, based on tallied votes, were awarded across seven categories.
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First-place winner in 28th annual Gingerbread Festival at Kohler Foundation’s Waelderhaus: Grade K-2 category, by Lake Country Academy, ‘Hansel and Gretel.’
First-place winners
The first-place winners in each category were awarded $500. They included the following:
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Pre-school: St. John the Baptist Catholic School “We Love Little Baby Jesus”;
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Grades K-2: Lake Country Academy “Hansel and Gretel”;
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Grades 3-5: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth “There is NO place like church”;
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Grades 6-8: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth “Winter Invasion”;
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Grades 9-12: Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School Culinary Arts Class “Up, Up, and Away”;
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Community Groups: Beacon Specialized Living “Hogwarts Castle”; and
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Open: TeBeest Family “2024 Olympics in Paris.”
First-place winner in 28th annual Gingerbread Festival at Kohler Foundation’s Waelderhaus: Grade 3-5 category, by St John Lutheran School in Plymouth, ‘There is NO place like church!’
Second-place finishers
First-place winner in 28th annual Gingerbread Festival at Kohler Foundation’s Waelderhaus: Grade 6-8 category, by St John Lutheran School in Plymouth, ‘Winter Invasion.’
Second-place finishers earned a $250 cash prize. They included the following:
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Pre-school: John Michael Kohler Arts Center Preschool “Little Legume Lodge”;
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Grades K-2: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth “Santa’s Village”;
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Grades 3-5: Sheboygan Christian School “Gingerbread Liberty”;
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Grades 6-8: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth “Whoville”;
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Grades 9-12: AFS Intercultural Exchange Elkhart Lake, Kohler, Random Lake “All Paths Lead to the USA”;
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Community Groups: American Heritage Girls WI0235 “Christmas Island”; and
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Open: Watershed Hotel “Christmas at the Watershed Hotel.”
First-place winner in 28th annual Gingerbread Festival at Kohler Foundation’s Waelderhaus: Grade 9-12 category, by Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah High School Culinary Arts Class, ‘Up, Up, and Away!’
Third-place honorees
Third-place honorees and recipients of a $100 award included the following:
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Grades K-2: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth “A Cabin in the Forest”;
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Grades 3-5: St. Sheboygan Christian School “New York Candy Towers”;
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Grades 6-8: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth Deer Camp”;
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Grades 9-12: AFS Intercultural Exchange Plymouth “Pathways to International Holidays”;
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Community Groups: Nourish Farms “Nourish Greenhouses”; and
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Open: RCS Empowers “RCS Candyland Train.”
First-place winner in 28th annual Gingerbread Festival at Kohler Foundation’s Waelderhaus: Open Category, by the TeBeest Family, ‘2024 Olympics in Paris.’
Winnings go to charitable groups
First-place winner in 28th annual Gingerbread Festival at Kohler Foundation’s Waelderhaus: Community Service Organization categiory, by Beacon Specialized Living, ‘Hogwarts.’
Award winners not already associated with a school or a nonprofit can choose a 501(c)(3) organization to donate winnings to.
Beacon Specialized Living is donating its winnings to Mel’s Charities, an Ozaukee County nonprofit supporting several initiatives, including individuals with intellectual or physical disabilities.
The TeBeest Family plans to donate its winnings to Sheboygan County Super Eights Special Olympics.
The Watershed Hotel will support Dogs2DogTags, an organization providing trained dogs to veterans.
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Next year’s festival
The 2025 festival will be Nov. 28 to Dec. 30 at the Waelderhaus, 1100 W. Riverside Drive, Kohler. Stay up to date at KohlerFoundation.org.
Contact Brandon Reid at breid@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Kohler Foundation names 2024 Gingerbread Festival winners