While many of the region’s kitchens are filled to the brim with turkeys and potatoes to be peeled in celebration of Thanksgiving, in other kitchens there are distinctly different scents beginning to waft out of the room, in preparation for Boothbay Harbor’s annual great Gingerbread Spectacular. From December 11-13 the Opera House celebrates the 9th holiday must-be-seen-to-be-believed Gingerbread Spectacular.

Over the past few weeks the simplest of designs have been sketched on napkins, while other creators have draped black-out shades on their windows and hovered over computers as CAD designs are refined. The Sweet Shoppe in Bath reports a regular run on candy at this time of year as gingerbread builders look for just the right adornments for their little, and not so little, creations.

Opera House Director Cathy Sherrill recently overheard patrons at Boothbay Harbor’s Ports of Italy discussing their planned 3-story gingerbread house entry for this year.

“There are no limits to entrants’ creativity, or competitiveness,” says Sherrill. “We’ve seen not only amazing gingerbread houses, but also castles, cabins, cathedrals, stadiums, snow globes, ski jumps, windmills, local landmarks, and almost anything you can imagine, all constructed from gingerbread.”

“The judges have a hilariously difficult time each year determining which entry is the Most Spectacular because they are all so amazing,” said Sherrill.

In addition to injecting a bit of outright holiday fun into the season, the Gingerbread Spectacular was created to be a much needed winter fundraiser for the non-profit Opera House. Although it costs nothing to enter, and nothing to attend, many visitors make generous contributions to the donation jars while others bid on the gingerbread creations themselves. Others make purchases at the Friends of the Opera House holiday bake sale, one of the best in the region.

“And the judges have frequently been bribed in past years, but all those bribes have come to the Opera House too,” Sherrill said with a smile.

In past years entries have been shipped from as far away as San Francisco, and driven overland from Albany, New York, but most of the designers and builders come from the Boothbay region and the Midcoast.

The rules are simple:

Structures and designs don’t need to be entirely made out of gingerbread, but they must be entirely edible.

All gingerbreads must be built off site and delivered to the Opera House on Thursday, Dec. 10 or the morning of Friday, Dec. 11.

They will be judged in the afternoon on the 11th, and award winners will be announced that evening at the annual Dough Ball.

Gingerbread builders interested in entering this year’s Gingerbread Spectacular are asked to call 207-633-6855 for additional details and to register.

The Dough Ball and Preview Party, on the 11th^, will be held from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., with hors d’oeuvres, music, a cash bar, and an opportunity to view the 2015 creations against the beautifully decorated Opera House.

“Each year our lighting and set director, Kevin Kiley out does himself, turning the inside of the Opera House into an absolutely stunning holiday display of lights and trees. Even without the gingerbread houses it would be worth seeing it at night - it’s magic,” Sherrill said.

Tickets for the Friday night preview party are $10 and available through the box office. Opera House members are admitted at no charge, as are all the bakers and creators of the gingerbread “houses.”

The current issue of Yankee Magazine urges readers to check out this magical display at the Opera House in Boothbay Harbor this season, and the Opera House urges would-be designers and builders to “get cookin’!!”