Food Network baking champs to judge The Block Northway's gingerbread house display

The inaugural holiday gingerbread house display at The Block Northway in Ross has been a sweet surprise for organizers.

Not only did it draw more than 65 entries, but it also will be visited by two television baking champions.

Pittsburgh-area pastry chefs Daniel Wilson and Marla Mae Harvey, recent winners of Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship: Gingerbread Showdown,” will drop in to judge winners in five categories at 2 p.m. Dec. 18.

The judging session is free and open to the public.

Harvey and Wilson will put their toques together to determine winners of best in show, most creative, most festive, most humorous and best construction.

The gingerbread houses created by individuals, families, Girl Scout troops and other organizations are on display through Jan. 16 in the South Corridor Lower Level between DSW and Land’s End. Mall hours are 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.

“We simply thought this would be a fun thing to do,” said Jamie Pavlot, The Block Northway director of experience. “We were surprised to end up with so many entries.”

The event was originally imagined as a display only, not a contest, so the opportunity to feature the celebrity bakers was a bonus, she said. Some participants are first-time gingerbread house builders, others are veterans of previous events around the area.

Part of the fun is seeing the creativity involved in each entry, Pavlot said.

Themes run the gamut from “Seasons Greetings” and “Santa’s Surprise” to “Scary” and “Amusement Park.” The houses are adorned in just about every candy imaginable, she added.

A “Home Alone”-themed creation by Pam Forcht of Gibsonia will be raffled to benefit North Hills Cares, a local nonprofit that aids families and children in need. The winner will be able to retrieve the house when the display comes down.

“(Forcht) said it should last a couple of years if it’s kept in a cool place,” Pavlot said.

Adding to the festive mood, sounds of the season concerts will be scheduled throughout December on the mall’s upper level. “Sweets and Treats” pop-up vendors also will be offering specialty items at various times near the gingerbread village.

For more information, visit theblocknorthway.com.