The inaugural Great Gibsons Cookie Competition attracted a dozen bakers to a piping-hot bout, as some participants infused their culinary craft with a seasoning of media culture. The event was the brainchild of Lisa Furfaro, the community outreach and programming coordinator at the Gibsons Public Library.
“This is an all-ages event,” said Furfaro, who presided over the high-carbohydrate competition on Nov. 30. “Families can work on this together; kids can get excited about being in the kitchen, and also coming to be part of a community event at the library.”
Baker Annika Chell took top prize in the category for kids aged 11 and under. Chell concocted yoghurt cookies that earned the considered approval from a trio of judges who sampled entries in front of a live audience.
“We do [cookies] with lots of different flavours, and that’s the beauty of it,” explained Chell’s baking coach (and grandmother) Carole Doerksen. “We normally do mango ones, but she wanted to do coconut yoghurt for this one.” Chell is an avid viewer of television baking programs and regularly collaborates in the kitchen with Doerksen.
Runner-up Evie Horton’s entries were one of the entries whose design took its cue from popular culture. Horton’s cookie design reflected a theme from the “Lilo & Stitch” TV and movie franchise: ‘Ohana — a familial bond shared by Indigenous Hawaiians. Although Horton’s father assisted with mixing duties, she carried the product to completion. “And I did the icing,” Horton added.
In the category for bakers aged 12 and up, chocolate caramel walnut cookies by Alice Edwards won first place. “I’ve made it before, but I don’t make it that often,” reflected Edwards, who also routinely bakes cakes and brownies. “I like being creative, being able to decide different tastes and looks and stuff.” Honourable mention was accorded to a crumbly homage to Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch (“Trashy Cookies”) prepared by Lisa Vitols.
The three-member adjudication panel comprised Town of Gibsons Mayor Silas White, newspaper editor Bronwyn Beairsto, and Alea Flett, owner of the Coast Cookie Company.
“I’m considering taste, and texture, and sweetness,” said Flett. “I was so curious to see what everyone had made.”
White stated it was his first time judging a cookie competition in the course of his mayoral duties. He said that regard for specific qualities of his seaside town would not sway his judgement: “I”m not looking for salty,” he observed. “Well-hydrated and salty may not score well for my own taste.”
Beairsto aligned her cookie criteria with her appetite for news coverage: “I love the presentation going on here,” she said, “and the icing with nice colours. It should be sweet, but not too sweet.”
Furfaro announced that the baking event will become an annual tradition for the library. Minutes after the contest concluded, spectators devoured leftover entries with full-throated expressions of satisfaction.
Hold on for more harmony
A lineup of community choir and band concerts — published last week in the arts pages of the Coast Reporter — accidentally omitted the upcoming debut of a choral ensemble that will perform on Friday, Dec. 6.
The Coastal Harmony Singers is a newly founded acapella choir composed of eight voices. The group plans to perform a program of carols and Christmas readings at Calvary Baptist Church, accompanied by homemade pastries, apple cider and sparkling beverages.
Although admission is free to the event (which starts at 6 p.m.), the church is collecting donations for local services supporting unhoused people. More information is available online at calvarygibsons.ca.
Browse a blaze of banners
Each year, the Sunshine Coast Arts Council invites elementary students to design street banners for the District of Sechelt. The multifaceted results — on display now at the Arts Centre on Medusa Street — constitute an outpouring of creativity in response to this year’s theme: “The Land Between Two Waters.”
Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourites. Top selections will be transformed into full-size banners that will adorn Sechelt streets throughout 2025.
The banner project display runs until Dec. 14 in conjunction with the gallery’s Sechelt Arts Festival exhibition.
