THOMASVILLE — Brenda Wheatcraft hadn’t even planned to enter the 2024 National Gingerbread House Competition. Personal health issues had dampened her enthusiasm for participating in the annual contest, which is hosted by the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville.
“Maybe next year,” she thought.
But this past fall, when Hurricane Helene pounded her way through the mountains of Western North Carolina, laying waste to Asheville and numerous surrounding towns and cities — and forcing the cancellation of the gingerbread house competition — the 55-year-old Thomasville woman had a sweet change of heart.
Instead of having the competition, organizers invited participants from previous years to create gingerbread pieces for what would be called the Gingerbread Trail of Giving. Their artistry would not be professionally judged, but for six weeks it would be displayed throughout Asheville — at the resort and at local businesses — as a way of bringing hope and joy to a community that desperately needed a lift.
“That just really tugged deeply at my heart, and I felt like I wanted to contribute somehow,” Wheatcraft says.
“With the way my health has been, I can’t go to Western North Carolina and just pick up a hammer and help rebuild houses, but I thought this was a way I could help with people’s hearts, giving them hope and a sense of healing.”
Wheatcraft was one of nearly 50 individuals who participated in the Gingerbread Trail of Giving. For about three weeks in November, she was up to her elbows in gingerbread, brightly colored gum paste and pastillage — an edible, sugary paste often used in cake decorating — as she created a colorful, eye-popping tribute to the resilient people of Western North Carolina. She titled the piece “Rebuilding WNC — Grace & Grit.”
“I wanted the piece to represent that Western North Carolina was going to be rebuilt and come back even stronger,” Wheatcraft says. “Everything I made was in reference to that, and how people were coming together to help one another.”
For her piece, Wheatcraft defied the traditional wintry backdrop for gingerbread houses and instead went with a fall setting, since that’s when Helene hit.
To emphasize her message of hope, the piece incorporates symbols of faith, unity and encouragement: The “WNC Strong” logo. A North Carolina flag. A banner reading “We ❤️ You WNC.” A heart with the message “Gone But Never Forgotten” — honoring those who died in the storm — and even a rainbow bridge to remember the pets that were killed. A bulldozer and construction workers, representing the rebuilding effort that’s now taking place.
References to faith are sprinkled throughout the piece, from people praying at the foot of a cross — a poignant reminder that those impacted by Helene are still being prayed for — to Bible verses and a “God Loves You” sign.
While Wheatcraft’s piece obviously strays from gingerbread house convention, it does still adhere to the annual competition’s guidelines.
“Everything on the piece is edible, and most of it is gingerbread, except for the characters,” she says.
Wheatcraft says she makes cakes for family and friends, and she thinks those skills transferred over to the realm of gingerbread houses. She entered the Asheville competition for the first time in 2023, and she plans to enter the 2025 competition.
In the meantime, she’s especially proud of the piece she made this year. It was on display at the inn through last weekend, and she returned to Asheville on Wednesday to pick it up. She hopes — and believes — that those who saw her creation drew inspiration from it.
“Hope and healing,” she says. “I hope it helps them see that when things happen like they did, that people can come together and help one another. They need to know that there’s always someone there for them.”