This year's Gingerbread Festival winners, plus more Sheboygan County news in weekly dose
SHEBOYGAN - Kohler Foundation has tallied the votes to determine the winners of the 26th annual Gingerbread Festival.
Fifty-seven entries were viewed and voted on by more than 3,400 visitors to the historic Waelderhaus. The overall highest vote-getter of the festival was “The House That Jack Built,” created by Viki Grunewald’s kindergarten class from Lake Country Academy in Sheboygan. The class was inspired by the book “This is the House that Jack Built,” written and illustrated by Simms Taback.
Prizes, based on tallied votes, are being awarded in seven categories.
First-place winners in each category were awarded $500 and include the following:
Pre-school: St. John the Baptist Catholic School, “Gingerbread Church”;
Grades K-2: Lake Country Academy, “The House That Jack Built”;
Grades 3-5: Sheboygan Christian School, “RMS Titanic”;
Grades 6-8: Sheboygan Falls Middle School, “Candy Cane Lane”;
Grades 9-12: Random Lake High School, “Shrek’s Swamp”;
Community Groups: Plymouth-Cedar Grove AFS Students, “Exchange Student Christmas Village”; and
Open: The Dennis Christian Family, “Santa’s Christmas Vacation in Elkhart Lake.”
Second-place winners earned a $250 cash prize and include the following:
Pre-school: John Michael Kohler Arts Center Preschool, “Gingerbird House”;
Grades K-2: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth (Miss Scheele’s), “Beach Oasis”;
Grades 3-5: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth (Mrs. MacGillis), “Farm”;
Grades 6-8: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth (Mrs. MacGillis), “Christmas Mini Golf”;
Grades 9-12: Cedar Grove Belgium High School (Mrs. Urness’s), “Winter in the Woods”;
Community Groups: Hub City 4H Club (Lori Schmid), “A Minion Christmas at the North Pole”; and
Open: The Williams Family, “Christmas in the 100 Acre Woods.”
Third-place honorees and recipients of a $100 award include the following:
Pre-school: Kohler Elementary Junior Kindergarten, “Bluey’s Holiday in Brisbane”;
Grades K-2: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth (Miss Meyer), “Rejoice in the Lord”;
Grades 3-5: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth (Mrs. MacGillis), “Dragon Castle”;
Grades 6-8: St. John Lutheran School Plymouth (Mrs. MacGillis), “Winter Cabin”;
Grades 9-12: Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah High School, “A Snow Globe Wonderland”;
Community Groups: Total Care Group, “Spiderman’s Home in New York”; and
Open: The TeBeest Family, “Cinderella’s Castle.”
The 27th annual Gingerbread Festival will run Nov. 24-Dec. 30. For more about the Waelderhaus and upcoming events, like Arts at the Waelderhaus, visit KohlerFoundation.org. The Waelderhaus is managed by the Kohler Foundation, a private, non-profit foundation that supports the arts, education and art preservation initiatives.
Welcome to your weekly dose.
Here is more news from throughout Sheboygan County in your weekly dose.
▶ Tom Papa brings 2023 Comedy Tour to Kohler Feb. 4: Comedian Tom Papa is bringing his 2023 Comedy Tour to Kohler Memorial Theater in Kohler at 8 p.m. Feb. 4.
Tickets for the show are on sale now and can be ordered at KohlerFoundation.org/Tickets or by calling Kohler Foundation at 920-458-1972.
With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country, finding success as an actor, host and author in film, TV, radio and podcasts as well as on the live stage.
The comedian has had four highly rated stand-up specials on Netflix and recently released his fifth Netflix special, “What A Day!,” on Dec. 13. The special was taped at the iconic Wilbur Theatre in Boston.
On June 6, Papa will release his third book, “We’re All In This Together … So Make Some Room.” The book compiles comedic essays that aim to unite us through our stupidity.
▶ All-American Girls Professional Baseball League topic of Feb. 11 Second Saturdays: Sheboygan County Historical Research Center’s February Second Saturdays will feature Dr. Thomas Armstrong presenting “Those Girls Can Really Play Ball, the Milwaukee Franchise of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.”
The program will start at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 11 at Plymouth Arts Center, 520 E. Mill St., Plymouth. The event is free and open to the public.
For one year, in 1944, Milwaukee fielded a team that was part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league was formed in 1943 and lasted until 1954, with teams representing several Midwestern cities.
The women who played during that time were highly skilled and dedicated baseball players who displayed admirable perseverance to play the game they loved.
Dr. Armstrong, a baseball enthusiast, will lead attendees through a celebration of this unique time in baseball history. Join in as he shares the stirring personal journeys of individual players and how they helped to shape the distinctive history of women’s professional baseball in Milwaukee and throughout the league.
▶ Doris Kultgen honored with Wisconsin DNR Park and Recreation 2022 LTE Legacy Award: Friends of Kohler-Andrae State Park’s Doris Kultgen has been recognized with a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Park and Recreation 2022 LTE Legacy Award.
The award is presented to an individual who has shown a long-lasting and permanent contribution over the years.
“Doris has dedicated the past 28 years at Kohler-Andrae State Park and has performed many varied job duties, including building cleaning, park maintenance and customer service,” said Sara Crook, park superintendent-Bureau of Parks and Recreation, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Kohler-Andrae & Harrington Beach State Parks, in an email.
“She has also taken on the property interpretive and social programming, scheduling presenters and working with volunteers and Friends group members in providing interpretive and educational programming,” Crook added. “Doris has an amazing way with people, developing long-term relationships with presenters, volunteers, staff and Friends members.”
More than 100 interpretive and social events are planned in a year thanks to Kultgen and her efforts, Crook said.
“She plays a key role in developing a top-notch interpretive program at the property,” Crook said. “We wish Doris continued success and thank you for all you do for Kohler-Andrae!”
Kohler-Andrae State Park is at 1020 Beach Park Lane, Sheboygan.
▶ Emily Eckhardt named 2022 Nurse of the Year at Aurora Medical Center-Sheboygan County: Emily Eckhardt, a registered nurse at Aurora Medical Center-Sheboygan County specializing in resilience and passion, was selected as a 2022 Nurse of the Year “for her exemplary demonstration of Aurora Health Care’s core nursing values and unwavering delivery of exceptional nursing care,” a news release said.
“Emily successfully aided the nursing department in transitioning to a new facility,” the release added.
“She coordinated moving equipment, organized documents and served as ‘moving coordinator’ on move-in day,” the release said.
“Emily also discovered a passion in organ donation and is actively pursuing becoming Aurora Sheboygan County’s representative to work with the organ procurement organization.”
What to expect in 2023
Streetwise reporter Alex Garner shares the big developments to expect on the Sheboygan County business scene in 2023 in her look ahead. Click here for the full article.
And local government/watchdog reporter Maya Hilty shares a roundup of public developments to expect in 2023. Click here to read that report.
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The Sheboygan Press won six second-place awards, one third-place award and one honorable mention award in the most recent Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest for 2021. Read more about the awards and follow links to the award-winning content by clicking here.
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The Sheboygan Press — part of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin — strives to make a difference in our community. Read our 2022 Community Report and our 2021 Community Impact Report.
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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Kohler Gingerbread Festival 2022 winners at the historic Waelderhaus
