STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Gingerbread house builders went big this year.

Those taking part in Sun Valley Resort’s third annual Gingerbread House Contest created some large-scale projects amongst the more traditional cozy cottages.

And they branched out from traditional gingerbread houses to build some masterpieces in candy and frosting that went well beyond homes made of pretzels and graham crackers.

Sun Valley’s Recreation Department replicated the Sun Valley Opera House on behalf of Camp Rainbow Gold.

“Graham Slam,” designed to benefit the Idaho Mavericks, which teaches character along with the game of baseball, features a graham cracker stadium with green marshmallow trees, candies on graham crackers representing the lights and gummi fans and baseball players.

Photographer Molly Vance created a large sculpture of a dog walker on the Bow Bridge on behalf of the Wood River Land Trust, which was behind the iconic bow-shaped bridge in Hailey’s Draper Preserve. A fisherman stands in the icy melted glass candy water below and powdered sugar snow hugs the brownie crumb banks.

Fifteen-year-old Brooke Vagias, who won awards in the first two contests, created a Victorian house with a balloon made of colorful Chiclet gum coming out of the chimney on behalf of Sage School, where she is a student. She called it “The Up House.”

Her success of the past two years apparently attracted another youngster—11-year-old Nora Jacoby--to build the Sweet Escape Bakery on behalf of Project 208 Football Club, an organization designed to  develop character, sportsmanship and community among its players, in addition to focusing on soccer skills.

“Graham Slam” depicts a baseball stadium in graham crackers.

And Boulder Mountain Clayworks made a Holiday Kiln out of gingerbread with gingerbread potters ready to stoke the fire with cinnamon sticks.

Sun Valley Resort’s Recreation Department built a pink Opera House with tall cookies standing in for trees, a peppermint candy clock and two little posters advertising showings of “Sun Valley Serenade.” It’s wallowing in snow, thanks to marshmallows on the ground and marshmallow cream flowing down its wafer cookie chimney.

They built it on behalf of Camp Rainbow Gold, a nonprofit organization that provides summer camp for children with cancer, their siblings and their family.

The McNeals, meanwhile, replicated Sun Valley Resort’s iconic Roundhouse Restaurant out of frosted Wheaties, checks and pretzels on behalf of the Sun Valley Ski education Foundation.

The “Gingerbread Forest” offers snowmen who look like they were outfitted by the Brass Ranch.

Lisamarie, Barb and Jen’s’ “Cozy Cabin in the Woods” is full of eye candy from the red hots providing ornamentation to the chocolate wafer siding to the trophy moose with pretzel antlers and a cute marshmallow snowman with a powder blue scarf expertly decorated.

Look inside the cabin with its pretzel siding and you’ll find stockings hang on the rock candy fireplace, a yellow lab sitting on an iced cookie blanket and packages tied together with bows made of sprinkles.

They built it on behalf of the Blaine County Education Foundation.

“Wild and Free,” built on behalf of The Community Library features an A-framed cabin with a Triscuit door, green licorice pine trees that invites people to move in.

This “Cozy Cabin in the Wood” demands that viewers look inside to see a bucolic scene.

Chris and Kelsey Strahle created a fetching Gingerbread Forest featuring a hobbit-like house with tiny mint window frames, a chocolate wafer pickup truck, wide-eyed snowmen made out of marshmallows with scarves and hats made of icing and coconut flakes standing in for snow on the shake cookie roof.

They made it on behalf of Mountain Humane. Meanwhile, the team at Mountain Humane created one of its Cozy Cat houses out of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.

Far + Wise fifth-graders created a lovely winter woodland scene with elk made of marshmallows and pretzels legs, a tiny cabin with a mint candy roof. Marshmallow crème replicates the snow on the banks of the Big Wood River.

The Sun Valley Culinary Institute, The Advocates and Bloom Community Food Center all made replicas of their buildings complete with trees made of Hershey’s Kisses. The Sireks created Santa’s Village with a stable made of graham crackers for the Bellevue Library.

And Sawtooth Botanical Garden not only created a replica of a Greenhouse cabin complete with melted candy glass but made it so it could spin like its prayer wheel so viewers can see all sides.

The 19 gingerbread houses will be on view throughout the holiday season in the Boiler Room in Sun Valley Village. Viewers are invited to cast their vote via cell phone for their three favorites.

The top vote getter will win $3,000 for the nonprofit it was made for. The second and third favorite will receive $2,000 and $1,000 respectively for their nonprofits.