The Gingerbread Mansion

Jake Thomas and his edible mansion.

The SportsPlex is all decked out for the Holidays. Snowflakes on the windows, icicles hanging from the ceiling and a gingerbread house. Wait a minute...make that a Gingerbread MANSION!

Jake Thomas, a skate guard at the SportsPlex is the creator of the Gingerbread complex. It took him over 2 weeks to create.

"I didn't really use a plan. I just started building." Jake said.

The inside of the house was supported by a gingerbread frame, so the entire house was totally edible.

Jake, who plans to study culinary arts in college, explained, "The largest pieces were for the walls. They were made out of cookie sheet gingerbread slabs. The roof was Andies Mints held on by icing. The windows were Hershey's chocolate bars."

A quick inventory revealed that candy canes, gum drops, licorice strips and red hots were also used.

When asked what his inspiration was, he grinned and said, "I made it for the afterschool kids to eat."

And eat it they did! Thursday was the demolition day. Not a piece of candy survived, but the memory of the gingerbread mansion will remain in their memories for a long time.

To meet more faces at the SportsPlex, visit the Faces in the Crowd archives...