The Annual Simcoe

County Gingerbread Contest

Contest Rules

November 29, 2025

Judging:  November 28, 2025

Judging Criteria

Overall Appearance: 

• Cleanliness of individual cookie elements and 3-D construction. Scale, balance, and viewability of 3-D construction (from all angles). 

Technique and skills: 

• Number and difficulty of decorating techniques used. 
• Decorating techniques include, but are not limited to, outlining/flooding, dipping, dimensional pressure piping, wet-on-wet/marbling, stenciling, airbrushing, painting, stamping, fondant work, edible paperwork, isomalt, etc. 
• Construction techniques include, but are not limited to, contouring dough, embossing or molding dough, stacked or sandwiched 3-D constructions, 3-D mitered corner constructions, etc.

Creativity and originality:

• Tell a story through the relationship of cookies in the piece.
• Copies of copyrighted material of any kind – characters, logos, others’ original art, etc. – are not allowed.

Overall Appeal: 

• Decorated board/base,
• Use of colour. 
• When viewing the entry there should be continuity of the theme throughout the entire piece.

For Child Bakers:

• Higher marks will be awarded to entries using homemade gingerbread compared to gingerbread purchased in premade kits.

Size Limitations: 

Each entry must be placed on a board base.  Entries combined with a base must not be larger than 24 inches high, 24 inches wide and 24 inches long.

Base Board: Recommend using ½ inch or ¾ inch plywood base. Use of risers or feet on the bottom of the base is preferred but not required.  Risers/feet are part of the base and should not cause the entry’s overall height to exceed 24 inches.

Non-edible materials such as paint and/or ribbon are approved and encouraged to decorate the outer edge of the plywood base only.

Gingerbread Entry Composition

• Except for base, entry must be constructed and composed of 100% edible materials
• Entry must be made of at least 75% gingerbread, some of which should be exposed
• In addition to candies and icing, the use of gum paste, fondant, pastillage, modeling chocolate, royal icing, isomalt, cast sugar, gelatin sheets and pressed sugar are encouraged.
• No artificial display materials such as Styrofoam are to be used in the construction or decoration of the entry.

Entries must be solely constructed by the individual or team entering the contest. For safety precautions, Youth and Child competitors may be supervised by a parent/guardian or classroom teacher (i.e. when using a stove or oven).

Judging November 28, 2025

• Entries and authorization forms are to be submitted for judging.   Information on entry form

Entry and Authorization Forms:

• Are to be completed for photos of the entries and public display for the event.

Send completed Registration forms by email to:  rotaryinnisfil@gmail.com

Send Payment to:     rotaryinnisfil@gmail.com  (auto deposit)

End of Contest: 

• Entries are to be removed from the venue by 3:00pm
• Unclaimed entries will be donated or disposed of by the Event committee

ENTRY FORM