142 Fleet Street
19 Market Street
123 Congress Street
49 Pleasant St
13 Market Street
89 Market Street
8 Congress Street
148 State Street
32 Daniel Street
51 Ceres Street
100 Market Street
112 Congress Street
40 Bridge Street
138 Congress Street
29 Congress Street
41 Market Street
22 Deer Street
Suite 100
175 Market Street
15 Vaughan Mall
2 Market Square
To celebrate over 400 years of Portsmouth’s history, the gingerbread committee at Portsmouth Historical Society has chosen the theme of “Portsmouth Past, Present and Future.” Join us at Portsmouth Historical Society from November 24 through December 30 to enjoy our 33rd Annual Gingerbread House Contest and Exhibition.
It’s always such a difficult job to judge the Gingerbread Contest. Let’s give our judges a round of applause for their hard work!
The winner is Lauren Burdett’s HMS Hospitality Line, showcasing the red phone box that was gifted to Portsmouth, NH from Portsmouth, England in 1984
Our adult category featured so many iconic Portsmouth landmarks and creative constructions that we were once again blown away!
Honorable mention goes to Lindsay Carroll’s Our Lovely Port.
This category brings together families and friends of all ages to work on a gingerbread entry. This year’s entries were so incredible that the judges were tied for the Honorable Mention!
Our first honorable mention goes to the Palace Family for their Goat Mountain Skiing.
The winner is Water Wheel Castle with Textile Mill by Natalie, Rachel, and Xander Little.
The other honorable mention goes to Portsmouth Tug by the Kindstedt Family.
Our teen entrants combine beautiful execution with creative inspiration.
The winner is Gia Giordano’s Blue Christmas.
Honorable mention goes to Prescott Park Paradox (Before & After Climate Change) by Evy, Emma, Jillian, & Ava.
We’re always impressed with our youngest bakers. This year’s entries include favorite places and events in Portsmouth like Prescott Park, the Parade of Sail, and of course our John Paul Jones House!
The winner is Drew Ordman’s Tall Ships Portsmouth.
Honorable mention goes to Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse by Lillian Carroll.
The Little Old Cubicle in the Shoe by the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Super Seven takes home the prize ribbon. We have it on good authority that the office also approves of this entry.
The Monarch School gets the honorable mention for The Albacore in Action, honoring the iconic Portsmouth submarine.
Congratulations to Libby Giordano for her colorful Candyland at Christmas.
With so many incredible entries we have not one, but two houses taking home an honorable mention.
Marden-Abbott House & Store by Clare Dombrowski looks just like the building at Strawbery Banke.
Showcasing multiple iconic Portsmouth views Sandi Strzepek’s I ♡ Portsmouth also takes home a ribbon.
While there were many nods to over 400 years of Portsmouth’s history in our gingerbread entries this year one monument stood above the rest. The award for Best Historic Detail goes to Rex Richards & Chloe Ingbretson-Dacey for Union is Strenght. This entry is a gingerbread representation of an arch that was erected between Market Square and Daniel Street in September, 1900 for one of Portsmouth’s many parades. The original structure was made of wood and only stood for about a month. This version is made of gingerbread and will be in the exhibition for five weeks!
This pair of first-time entrants chose a Portsmouth building that is near and dear to the historical society. Christmas at John’s House by Penny & Charlotte depicts the John Paul Jones House. With its cheery yellow exterior and clever pretzel windows their inspiration is immediately clear
The big winner for the People’s Choice Awards was Make-A-Wish New Hampshire’s Yuletide Palace made by Libby Giordano. This classic winter wonderland won not only People’s Choice for Best in Show, but also, Most Attention to Detail.
Libby Giordano’s Candyland at Christmas wins People’s Choice for Most Whimsical.
Best Downtown House goes to Richardson’s Market by Beth & Greg Danilowshi.
Most Creative Use of Materials goes to Water Wheel Castle with Textile Mill by Natalie, Rachel, and Xander Little.
Win a gingerbread creation to take home as a holiday centerpiece! Raffle tickets are $1, and winners will be notified on December 19, and they may pick up the house won on Friday, December 22 between 10:00 am and 7:00 pm, or on Saturday, December 23, between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.
For the fourth year in a row, we’re partnering with downtown retailers to create a gingerbread scavenger hunt! Find all the houses, collect all your stamps, and return your entry to Portsmouth Historical Society by December 19 for a chance to win a prize! Don’t forget to vote for your favorite downtown house, too!
We’ll have an eye-spy activity for the younger kids. Find all the pictures and get a sticker—and a piece of candy if the parents say it’s okay!
We’ll also have an easy craft-to-go to complete at home. Color and assemble your own gingerbread house!
Barbara Stevens Adams, Peter Cady, Tom Glover, and Dustan Knight team up to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Portsmouth by remembering what used to be. Through their paints and brushes, these four talented artists depict the lost neighborhoods of our beloved city such as the North End, old Puddle Dock, the West End and others. Works will be on display and available for sale from November 24 through December 30 in the balcony gallery at Portsmouth Historical Society.
Barbara Stevens Adams began her art involvement while practicing as a psychotherapist in New Haven, Connecticut. Following her move to New Hampshire in 1990 she continued to pursue her art explorations which now have taker her to her current passion with oils and soft pastels. Barbara is a founding member and the past president of the Pastel Society of New Hampshire, a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association, a Signature Member of the Pastel Painters of Maine, and a member of Kittery Art Association, Seacoast Art Association, and Newburyport Art Association. the focus of her art is frequently themes from her en plein air painting excursions, her abstract exploration, and her enjoyment of the many moods of the New England coast. Although no longer practicing in her profession as a psychotherapist, Barbara has continued to be an active supporter of community agencies. She supports, through her art, NH Public Television, Womenaid of Greater Portsmouth, Portsmouth Music and Art, and Seacoast Pathways.
Dustan Knight is a working artist living in New Castle, a small island near Portsmouth, NH. She earned her MFA at Pratt Institute in NYC during the eighties, and an MA in Art History from Boston University. After years of teaching college and graduate art classes, she has returned full-time to her studio. As a mature artist, Dustan is able to step away from the politics of the art world and delve deeply into what matters most to her. Her art practice has exploded into powerful, abstracted images that celebrate the physicality of her materials and refer to her personal experiences in her PLACE.
Peter Cady grew up on the coast of New Hampshire. His study of painting began as a boy observing painters with their easels overlooking the ocean. He studied civil engineering but found he was drawn to things artistic and to working with his hands. After college, he worked in construction and learned fine woodworking. He still lives in the timber-framed house he built from his trees. His furniture making started to incorporate color and a variety of materials, evolving into sculpture. After a second career of teaching science to middle school students, he returned to the arts. He has gotten to know and learn from many fine painters like the ones in this group.
Tom Glover was born in Keene, NH. He graduated with a BFA degree in painting at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, and worked closely with the Maine painter John Laurent up until Laurent’s death in 2005. He studied painting restoration with the conservator Anthony Moore in York, Maine. For several years he lectured at the University of Connecticut to science education graduate students on “The Landscape, Mythology, and the Artist.” He has also taught painting at the UNH Department of Continuing Education, and at workshops on the Isles of Shoals. Currently, he teaches painting at Sanctuary Arts in Eliot, Maine.
Are you a business without a storefront in the immediate Market Square area? You can submit a house in the “Business/Organization” category of general registration. Click here!
The applicant understands that completing this agreement does not guarantee participation, as Portsmouth Historical Society does not yet know the final number of houses we will have to distribute.
