Winterfest, gingerbread houses and lights, oh my.

Creative bakers with a flair for architecture can test their edible skills in a new gingerbread house contest in McCandless, with all entries to be judged at the fifth annual Winterfest, the town’s signature seasonal celebration, scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m. Dec. 6.

Entries can be dropped off at Town Hall, off Grubbs Road, from Nov. 24 through Dec. 2, with a winning prize for the best house.

“We’ll set up the gingerbread houses at Winterfest and event participants will vote for their favorite. The winning submission gets a pack of passes to Fun Fore All,” said Abby Lucostic, parks and recreation director for the town.

Fun Fore All is a family entertainment park located in Cranberry.

Gingerbread rules include family household teams only and houses must be winter-holiday themed. Dimension and material requirements and other rules are provided at townofmccandless.org. McCandless residents should register online so the town can prepare appropriate space, Lucostic said.

It’s all part of the family-friendly Winterfest, one of the town’s major community events in addition to its Community Day held in September.

Winterfest takes place on the grounds of Town Hall — and with all of the decorating, it’s not hard to miss.

“McCandless Department of Public Works strings lights on trees and fencing throughout Devlin Park and around Town Hall, turning it into a winter wonderland. We will also have five small fir trees decorated outside of Town Hall that will be planted in a town park or property in the spring,” Lucostic said.

The trees are decorated by town agencies, including the McCandless police, local fire departments, Northland Public Library, the public works crew and the town’s administrative staff.

“If you drive down McCandless Drive and spot a row of fir trees along the hillside, those are trees used at Winterfest,” she said.

Winterfest activities are held both inside and outside the public works garage, featuring holiday music, snow games, a kid-sized train ride, John’s Funky Inflatables and a free Igloo Photo Booth, she said.

A bonfire, smores, and food trucks will be located outdoors.

Residents can get creative in the “Name the Snow Plow Contest,” where folks cast their votes for a punny or funny name for public works’ fleet of plows, she said.

The Pittsburgh Zoo will bring some winter-loving animals from 3 to 5 p.m., and Anna and Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen” will greet guests from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., according to Lucostic.

Santa will kick off the event with his arrival in a fire truck at 3:15 p.m., she said, and an ice carver is returning this year.

Guests can stroll along a lit trail from Devlin Park to a seasonally decorated McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage Cultural Center for story time.

There also will be a collection of pantry items for the North Hills Community Outreach. A list of the most-needed items are available on the town’s website.

In addition to baking and Winterfest, McCandless residents can get even more into the holiday spirit by taking part in a house-lighting competition.

Big or small, bright or humbly lit, residents can email a photo of their home’s holiday decorations by Dec. 17 to administration@townofmccandless.org.

Submissions will be posted on the town’s Facebook page on Dec. 19, and the photo that gets the most likes by Dec. 22 will be declared the winner.

“Winners get a celebratory trophy and bragging rights until 2026,” Lucostic said.

For details, visit townofmccandless.org.

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