The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa has opened registration for its 34th National Gingerbread House Competition, with entries accepted through November 9 and the judging ceremony scheduled for Monday, November 16, 2026. What started in 1992 as a small community display has grown into one of the hospitality industry's most distinctive seasonal culinary events, drawing professional pastry chefs, amateur bakers, architects, and families from across the country.
The display opens to resort guests on November 17 and runs through January 3, 2027 — a nearly seven-week window that makes the competition a significant driver of late-season hotel stays and food-and-beverage traffic at the Asheville property.
New Judges Raise the Bar
Two new culinary figures join the judging panel this year. Sasha Aleksandra Nary, a Le Cordon Bleu Paris-certified pastry chef, master confectionery artist, and author of Baking Magic, brings deep expertise in structural sugar work and pastry design. She is joined by Rabiha Sami, an award-winning cookie artist and competitor on Food Network's Christmas Cookie Challenge. Their addition signals the resort's ongoing effort to elevate the competition's credibility within the professional pastry and confectionery community.
For hospitality operators watching seasonal programming trends in food and beverage, the event illustrates how culinary competitions can function as sustained destination marketing — rather than a single-night event, the multi-week gingerbread display anchors holiday occupancy and drives repeat visitation. Bethany Cobb, Director of Marketing at The Resort, noted that competitors often spend months preparing their entries, while families return annually, weaving the display into their personal holiday traditions.
Scale and Community Impact
Over 33 years, the competition has attracted entries from 26 states and drawn more than 20,000 visitors to Asheville each holiday season. That kind of consistent attendance makes it a meaningful case study in experiential hospitality programming — proof that tactile, craft-driven events retain audience loyalty even as entertainment options multiply digitally.
The resort also leverages the holiday season for community investment: since 2013, the property has donated a portion of its parking proceeds to local nonprofit organizations in Buncombe County, contributing more than $1.4 million to date through that program.
Registration takes place November 14–15, with judging and the awards ceremony on November 16. The awards ceremony is reserved for contestants and their families; the full public display opens the following day.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
