For a real treat, see the amazing display of gingerbread houses at Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa in Asheville on November 14, 2007-January 6, 2008 on Mondays-Thursdays. It's free to see! Your only cost could be valet parking (which is worth the expense since most parking is in big parking garages and you can easily get turned around in the sprawling hotel). In addition to the gingerbread overload, see the beautiful holiday displays throughout and warm by the giant fireplaces in the grand lobby.

In an effort to better serve all guests coming to view The 2007 National Gingerbread House Competition display and holiday decorations, The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa will be open for community viewing Monday through Thursday from November 14, 2007 through January 6, 2008. Those dining in our restaurants or enjoying our lounges are invited to view the displays at any time.

“Admittedly, we needed to do something to lessen the number of people viewing the gingerbread houses, especially on the weekends, as last year crowds have negatively impacted the experience that our overnight resort guests have come to expect,” said GPI Executive Operations Director William Kelley. “Thousands of people come to view the display during the holidays and this new gingerbread house viewing policy will be more comfortable for our resort guests as well as visitors from the community.”

The National Gingerbread House Competition awards ceremony takes place on Monday, November 12, 2007 at 5:00 pm and is open to the public at no charge for admission. Following the four hour competition, the resort’s visual design team will be spending the following days placing more than 325 entries in specially crafted holiday scenes where they will rest through January 6, 2008.

The grand prize winning entry and selected other winners will be removed from the display during the week of December 18 as the resort transports them to New York City for its tenth straight appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Special maps will be available for resort guests and visitors so they can see where each of the displays is located throughout the Resort. The youth, teen and adult top ten winners will be located on the lobby levels of the Sammons and Vanderbilt wings.

“There will still be other gingerbread houses located on level 7 in the Vanderbilt Atrium area,” said Kelley, “We listened to our resort guests and feel that this is an amicable solution to accommodate everyone who comes to view the entries of the National Gingerbread House Competition.”

UPDATE: And the 2007 winner is...

With a 15-year history and in a year with much to marvel, 2007 National Gingerbread Competition Grand Prize winner Patricia Howard of Winter Springs, FL brings home the prestigious award for an incredible second year in a row. The competition, which is held annually at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, hosted a panel of eight distinguished judges as well as Jill Cordes, Food Network and HGTV host served as MC of the event. In addition, The Travel Channel filmed the event for a Christmas special, scheduled to air during the month of December.

After deliberating for several hours Monday afternoon (November 12), the winner’s were decided among three categories: Adult, Teen 13-17 and Youth 12 and under. Hundreds of spectators witnessed the judging process and awards ceremony. Out of the 300 entries, 150 were Adult, 52 were Teen and 148 were Youth.

Billie Mochow of Burns, TN won first-place in the adult division. Other first -place winners included Patterson and Peyton Young of Weaverville, NC in the Teen category and Brett Nash and Mitch Slevin from White, GA in the Youth category. Judges that scored the competition, Aaron Morgan, Executive Pastry Chef for The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, Gerry Hempel Davis of Baltimore, MD, Nadine Orenstein of New York, NY, Chef Nicholas Lodge of Atlanta, GA, Colette Peters of New York, NY, Steven Stellingwerf of Sioux Falls, ID and Mark Seaman of Chicago, IL.

Four –time Judge Nadine Orenstein, Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “This year is even more impressive than past years. It has always been difficult to judge…but to have to narrow it down to a top ten, particularly this year for the youth category, proved to be a challenge.”

Elated two-time Grand Prize Winner Patricia Howard, “I started planning my design for this years competition on my way up in the elevator from last years win; this is the hardest thing I have ever done!” The Grand Prize, $1,500 cash plus a two night package including two nights' accommodations, dinner for two, and breakfast daily. Value for all cash awards and prizes total over $7,500.

The 2007 Gingerbread House Competition display and holiday decorations will be open for community viewing Monday through Thursdays at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa until January 5, 2008. In addition, it is the second year the tradition carries for a partnership with the downtown architectural jewel, The Grove Arcade. A select group of 30 houses will be on display and the public is welcome for viewing seven days a week from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Saturday and noon to 5:00 pm on Sunday.

Patricia Howard’s winning Gingerbread House entry as well as other selected winning masterpieces, will be transported to New York City the week of December 17th for a scheduled Christmas Eve morning appearance on “Good Morning America”. “Being our 10th year appearance is a great honor, says Chef Aaron Morgan, “they have said in the past that we have become one of their holiday traditions.”

The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa is one of the South's most venerable and famous grand resorts. Built in 1913 from granite stones mined from Sunset Mountain, the resort overlooks the Asheville skyline and provides guests with majestic views of the legendary Blue Ridge Mountains. The National Gingerbread Competition is a Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa annual event that draws entries from across the country. The 16th annual competition is set for November 17, 2008.

Official Judging Results:
Youth Category Winners
1.Brett Nash & Mitch Slevin from White, GA
2.Elisabeth Somerville from Montreat, NC
3.Will Rankin from Banner Elk, NC
4.Danielle & Karley Tenberg from Mooresville, NC
5.Luke & Ashleigh Lechner from Asheville, NC
6.Sarah Buckner from Marshall, NC
7.Janey Lewis from Simpsonville, SC
8.Amy Ray from Charlotte, NC
9.Emily Spafford from Greenback, TN
10.Julia Navin from Franklin, TN

Teen Category Winners
1.Patterson & Peyton Young from Weaverville, NC
2.Julia Livermoore & Brianne Cassidy from Sheboygan, WI
3.Carly & Moe Mastor from Winston-Salem, NC
4.Abby Satterfield & Heather Yeaney from Greenback, TN
5.Chris Johnson from Candler, NC
6.Alex Hintz from Weaverville, NC
7.Oakwood Gingerbreaders Team # 1 from Dayton, OH
8.Oakwood Gingerbreaders Team # 2 from Dayton, OH
9.Macy Clower from Greenback, TN
10.Josh Counts from Greenback, TN

Adult Category Winners
1.Billie Mochow from Burns, TN
2.Tracy Navin from Franklin, TN
3.Merry Spafford & Claudette Ervin from Greenback, TN
4.Rita & Monte Adams from Ringgold, GA
5.Bronwyn Rowlands from Northhampton, PA
6.Cathy Barron from Depew, NY
7.Tim Carrigan from Buchanan, MI
8.Cathy Christiansen from Gainesville, VA
9.Ann Bailey from Cary, NC
10.Patricia Ashley Howard from Winter Springs, FL

Grand Prize Winner
PATRICIA HOWARD of WINTER SPRINGS, FL