Here are the winners of the 2023 Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama Contest

Molly Guthrey, Pioneer Press
·14 min read

Here’s what we noticed about the dioramas we didn’t receive for our annual Peeps tradition:

For the first time since 2020, there were no pandemic-related themes: No Zoom calls, no face masks, no socially distanced gatherings.

Could this be a sign that art is imitating life, that life has finally returned to what we call the “before times”?

Here are some of the themes we did see this year:

In the 57 entries for the “Little Peeple” category (ages 12 and under), the pint-sized artists created scenes of snowball fights, backyard movie nights, pizza parlor outings and … stars on the red carpet at this year’s Met Gala (good job, little fashionista!).

In the general category, the 160 entries were focused on grown-up problems and issues, like St. Paul potholes (a lot of potholes), our long winter and the “impeepment” of former President Donald Trump.

As usual, we received entries from around the country (including the librarians at the downtown branch of the Guernsey County District Public Library in Cambridge, Ohio, who created tiny versions of Charles Dickens’ novels).

This year, we have loaded every entry into online slideshows (one for the kids, the other for the big Peeps); we have also created a “participation certificate” that diorama artists can download. Find it all at twincities.com/tag/peeps-contest.

We love that so many people have embraced our contest as an annual tradition — a tradition that dates back to 2004. Thanks to all of you for sharing your marshmallow masterpieces with us!

And now, here are the winners:

Little Peeple (Chicks): “Peeps at the Duck Pond” by Carolann Akervik, age 3, Cottage Grove.

“Carolann loves visiting the duck pond behind her house, so she created this Peeps diorama of her duck pond for the Pioneer Press youth peep competition,” writes Rebekah Akervik, Carolann’s mom.

“Carolann can’t wait for all the snow to melt and the ducks to return so she can feed them,” Akervik says. “She used magazines, glue and toilet paper rolls to create the background, then Play-Doh for the pond and orange Play-Doh worms. She collected twigs and rocks from her yard for the trees, bushes and sticks in the water. She had some help from her mom with cutting and gluing. Her favorite part of her duck pond diorama is the pipe cleaner sun ‘that warms up the ducks.’ Her Peeps are visiting the pond and feeding the ducks on a sunny summer day.”

The judges liked the spirit of this entry; Carolann — like so many of us — is longing for spring.

Carolann’s prize is a $25 gift card.

Little Peeple winner: “Peeployment” by Olivia Noland, 12, of Eleva, Wis.

“Hello, my name is Olivia Noland, I am 12 years old, and my diorama is a ‘peeployment,'” Noland wrote in an email to the Pioneer Press. “The peeployment represents my dad and his airlift squadron that recently deployed. He flies with the 96th Airlift Squadron in Minneapolis, and this is his 10th deployment. The blue Peeps represent the airmen, the red Peeps represent the mechanics and the purple and pink Peeps represent the ‘peeples’ that are a part of the airmen’s families. The squadron flies cargo planes called C-130 Hercules and provides support to military personnel all over the world. My grandma bought the supplies and the Peeps for this project. I used my brother’s C-130 toy plane and made little Peep hats. I also made a runway and the sky from craft paper and a tri-fold board.”

(Olivia’s grandma, Rebecca Noland, tells us that the 96th Airlift Squadron is part of the 934th Airlift Wing, an Air Force Reserve C-130 unit based at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station.)

We called the sixth grader after school on Tuesday to tell her the news.

“I’m surprised!” the winner said. “There were a lot of good ones; I didn’t know if I had a chance.”

Olivia’s diorama tribute stood out, the judges agreed, thanks to her well-written essay, her attention to detail on the diorama and the heartfelt nature of this daughter’s marshmallow salute to her father.

“I can’t wait to tell him!” she said.

For her win, Olivia will receive a $25 gift card.

Third place (tie): “We Give a Peep About History!” by the father-and-daughter team of Meg Duhr of St. Paul and Felix Schultz of Green Lake, Wis.

“This diorama is inspired by the West 7th community who rallied to protect the historic Justus Ramsey House,” Duhr and Schultz wrote in their email to the judges. “Through the artistic media of Peeps, cardboard and watercolor, it attempts to capture the moment when the volunteer legal team served the temporary restraining order that saved the house from imminent demolition.

“We used photos of the site to recreate as much detail as possible of the scene. All elements are handmade except for the fake snow. The backdrop was painted with watercolors and we used Peeps to recreate the limestone bricks of the house. It took some trial and error, as well as online research into ‘Peepitecture’ methods, to identify the best method for cutting and affixing the Peep ‘stones,’ but we found that cold Peeps and a hot knife worked best and the natural adhesive of pure sugar made an excellent ‘mortar.’ The Peep bricks were then painted to match the color of the house. Unfortunately, many, many Peeps were harmed in the making of this diorama — probably close to two dozen if you count the Peeps lost to proof-of-concept testing.”

The judges picked this entry because of the St. Paul theme; we love local news! It also shows incredible artistry — just like the house itself.

The father-and-daughter will have to share their $25 gift card.

Third place (tie): “Peep Family Fun Game Night” by Martha Sohn of Vadnais Heights.

“I look forward to “Peeping” every spring,” writes Martha Sohn. “‘Peep Family Fun’ was actually more fun for me than for my ‘Peeple.'”

We asked Sohn about why she enters our contest annually:

“I’m a former art teacher,” she replied, “so creative “peeping” was/is my joy! My first was really simple — ‘Snoopeep,’ a Peep on Snoopy’s dog house. Over the many years, creating Peep-like detail became my obsession (in a good way). Some of my favorites include ‘Therapeep,’ ‘Peeps on Earth, Good Will Towards Marshmallows’ (a Christmas theme), ‘Peeping Peeps.’ I have many that I have made into framed photos in my home. There are just so many (20+). Some years, I created more than one. Each one evokes much joy, excitement and memories!”

Of her diorama, Sohn sets the scene for us:

“I can only imagine what a Peep Family Fun Game Night might look like,” Sohn writes. “I envision exciting rounds of Peeptionary as well as challenging sessions of Opeepation. Playing on an IPeep would certainly enter in as well as some creative Etch-a-Peeping. Of course, wine and snacks will be provided. This will be the CHAMPIONPEEPSHIP! May the best Peep prevail!”

There are judges among us who enjoy playing board games; we also enjoyed all the different scenes and details Sohn created within one diorama. Check out more photos of this diorama online.

Sohn’s award is a $25 gift card.

Second place: “GoodEgg Thrift Store” by Katherine Rose of St. Paul.

“After 20-odd years of looking forward to seeing the Peeps dioramas in the paper on Easter, I figured it was finally my time to enter!” Katherine Rose wrote to the Peeps judges. “I even set a reminder on my phone last spring to remind me. I would like to present to you: GoodEgg Thrift Store.”

Why thrift?

“I think that Peeps are just like us,” Rose says. “If they need a unique hat or a trinket for their coop, where would they go? High quality booty at a cheep price and hunting for barn-gains at the thrift store!”

These Peeps are leading by example.

“Normalize buying second-hand!” their creator urges. “It is environmentally friendly and budget savvy, a win-win. Peeps are definitely environmentalists and very community oriented; you literally have to tear them apart from each other.”

Thrifting is also fun, especially when combined with art and marshmallows.

“I had so much fun finding and creating items to stock the shelves,” Rose writes. “My fingers were covered in glue and paint by the end of this. Lots of items were made with paper, balsa wood and polymer clay. Did you know you can get miniature hobby trim at the hardware store? So adorable.”

The judges are partial to thrift stores, so we were immediately drawn to this entry; we also loved the attention to detail with the bargains stocking the store shelves.

Congrats to our thrifter; perhaps she can find some treasures at the GoodEgg with her $50 gift card.

First place: “Peep Blossom Bonsai” by Jessica Doody of St. Paul.

For our contest, Jessica Doody and her daughter, Ava, each worked on dioramas as a fun project over spring break.

On Tuesday, we called Doody — a ceramic artist from St. Paul — to tell her she had won first place; we also let her know that Ava got an honorable mention for her “Zelda” diorama.

It was a good day for good news:

“Today is Ava’s birthday!” Doody said.

Happy 14th, Ava!

Ava has obviously inherited her mother’s artistic talent: You can find Doody’s work at Jessica Doody Art + Craft (jessicadoodyart.com) or follow her at Instagram.com/jessicadoodyart.

Of her Peeps process, Doody explains:

“As a potter I typically work with clay, but in brainstorming ideas for Peep dioramas it popped into my head to try using the Peep itself as an artistic medium,” Doody wrote in her email to the Peeps judges. “I thought of interesting three-dimensional objects and was inspired by the ancient art of bonsai. I’ve always admired the delicate, elegant, balanced forms when viewing the examples at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Como Park, but this is my first attempt at grooming a bonsai tree myself.

“I used cardboard to create a basic structure, then adhered Peeps in the chocolate pudding, Dr. Pepper and sour watermelon varieties. The finishing touch was some tiny, hard sugar Peeps as blossoms. I was impressed with how well the chocolate bunnies were able to represent gnarled tree bark (and it turns out that bunny ears are dead ringers for tree roots), and my favorite part is having their little Peep faces peeking out here and there.”

The judges were impressed with the unique use of Peeps, and the overall zen-like quality; a marshmallow masterpiece.

The local artist takes home our top prize, a $100 gift card.

Honorable mentions

Here are a few of the entries we are celebrating with honorable mentions (view more in our online slideshows):

“Bob Born Tribute” by the Schomburg family of the Twin Cities metro area (from Robbinsdale to Prescott, Wis.)

The Schomburg family, who enter annually as a group, wrote in their submission: “This year there was little debate about the theme we should use for our Peeps diorama. Ira ‘Bob’ Born passed away at the age of 98 and was known as ‘The Father of Peeps,’ and we all felt he should be celebrated and so did all the ‘Peeps.’ He was already a Navy veteran and physicist when he applied for medical school and was accepted. While waiting for his classes to begin, he took interest in his family’s candy factory, ‘Just Born,’ and got hooked on the process and especially the machines that turned out the marshmallow Peeps. He also cut down on waste in the factory by coming up with Hot Tamales, which started out as a way to melt down Mike and Ike candies that were misshapen and spice them up with cinnamon to disguise the original flavors. Bob, if it wasn’t for you there might never have been a Peeps contest! We give you ‘Bob Born Tribute.'”

“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Peep” by Ava Doody, 14, of St. Paul.

“This is a model of Kokiri Forest from the ‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,'”Ava writes. “If you are a Zelda fan then you will notice some little Easter eggs I’ve hidden around such as Saria’s ocarina at Link’s house and you can see Fado offering you a rupee. I used Peep candy instead of classic marshmallow Peeps because the scale was better for the model. For the water, I used Peep cotton candy with Peep gummies.”

“I Peep Getting Stuck in the Alley!” by Alisa Lein and Jeff Miersch of St. Paul

“Many alleys of St. Paul have been a challenging icy rutty mess this winter,” the diorama artists wrote. “We dedicate this scene to everyone who has gotten stuck while trying to navigate the difficult terrain of these alleys.”

“An Outdoor Movie Date” by Kinley Braun, age 10, of Eagan.

“Inspired by the backyard movie nights we host in the summer,” Kinley wrote.

Kinley’s sister, 8-year-old Jillian Braun, also won an honorable mention for her diorama, “The Lorax.” View the entry in our online slideshow.

“Philledelphia Peeples vs. the Kansas City Chieps at Super Bowl 57” by Felix, 13, and Trudy, 11.

“My sister and I built a Super Bowl 57 Peeps Diorama. My sister is 11 and named Trudy. I am 13 and named Felix. If we could, can we not be entered into the 12 and under category? Thanks! We are big Kansas City Chiefs fans and when they won the Super Bowl we had to make a diorama about it. We call it the ‘Philledelphia Peeples vs. the Kansas City Chieps at Super Bowl 57.’ I built the structure of the stadium and painted it while my sister did the details on the players and in the stands. We are very proud of it and hope it wins.”

“Reality Chick” by Kelsey Nesenson and Sage Waki age 5, of St. Paul

“We worked really hard on this silly image that depicts a baby chicken looking into a mirror and seeing rows of Peeps instead of its own reflection,” Nesenson wrote. “The image plays on the idea of cute chicks and chicken Peeps, a lighthearted and playful scene. The title ‘Reality Chick’ adds to the humor of the image, as it suggests that the baby chicken is getting a new perspective on the world around it. Overall, the image is a fun and whimsical take on the idea of self-reflection and self-awareness.”

“Snowmageddon 2023: Top 10 Snowiest Winters” by the Lawrence brothers of Burnsville

“This diorama was done by Colton Lawrence, age 8; Jackson Lawrence, age 6; and Cooper Lawrence, age 4, of Burnsville, with guidance (hot glue gun mostly) from their grandparents, Jacqui and Dave Meany,” writes Jacqui Meany. “We chose ‘Snowmageddon’ as a theme due to our record breaking snow this year, and because the boys love playing in the snow and helping their mom and dad shovel.”

“Peeps and Potholes” by Marilyn Brandt of Hugo and Murray Gardner of St. Paul Park

“Our inspiration for the design came from driving around the city of St. Paul, dodging potholes, but especially from reading Joe Soucheray’s column (about potholes) in Sunday’s newspaper, which was excellent. My partner, Murray Gardner, and I had a lot of fun planning and constructing our project using our favorite dessert, brownies, for the streets.”

(There were many other pothole entries, see them all in our slideshow!)

“Only Room In This Sky For One Peeper” by Jill Schaefer of Minnetonka

The strange spectacle of China’s spy balloon floating across our country earlier this year provided inspiration for several of our diorama artists, including Jill Schaefer of Minnetonka.

“Inspired by recent news events,” she wrote, “this Peep springs into action to take down its Peeping competition, carefully ensuring no Peep chicks were harmed during the maneuver.”

“Arbor Peeps Green Up the Town” by Daniel Gjertson, Richard Gjertson, Sandy Tanck and Allie Quinn of Golden Valley and Waconia

“Created by the parents and partner of an arborist (arbor Peep),” wrote the artists of their diorama. “It’s to celebrate the dedication and hard work of arbor Peeps everywhere to keeping the trees we all live with healthy and beautiful. This crew of six is greening up the town through tree planting and pruning in a neighborhood park. Get out this Arbor Day (April 28) and thank your local arbor peeps for all they do. Richard handcrafted all of the painted wooden props (check out that pole saw, wood chipper and chainsaw!), Sandy created the whirling trees and backdrop and Allie curated the wardrobe. Our expert arbor peep, Daniel, set the rope systems for our climbers. Our project build site was a heated garage in Waconia. Upon sending pictures of our initial progress to friends it’s clear most Minnesotans associate a wood chipper with ‘Fargo’; we took a slightly different direction and hope you enjoy it.”

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