KUKUI GROVE — Who knew the two worst enemies of gingerbread houses would turn out yesterday? Nancy Kanna, a gingerbread house aficionado and Easter Seals volunteer, said rain and humidity are the two worst enemies of gingerbread houses. That was
KUKUI GROVE — Who knew the two worst enemies of gingerbread houses would turn out yesterday?
Nancy Kanna, a gingerbread house aficionado and Easter Seals volunteer, said rain and humidity are the two worst enemies of gingerbread houses.
That was one of the lessons Kanna, volunteering at the annual Easter Seals fundraiser for the past four years, learned during the 20 to 25 years she has been making gingerbread houses.
But there were a lot of gingerbread house enthusiasts who did not know that and turned out at the Kukui Grove center stage to take part in the annual Gingerbread Family Festival yesterday.
Moms, dads, brothers and sisters only hesitated when an occasional gust of wind would send mist from the falling rain into the construction zone, turning heads in query of where the moisture was coming from.
“Where’s the sun?” visitor David Zalick of Tampa, Fla., wanted to know.
Zalick, who arrived on Kaua‘i with his wife Stephanie on Friday night, was greeted with rain, but could not resist stopping by the festival when he spied the Easter Seals banner.
“I was an Easter Seals poster child back in 1973,” Zalick said.
But instead of working on a gingerbread house, he made short work of a gingerbread cookie, an option available to shoppers who had less time to devote to the holiday project.
Zalick held his completed project on a paper plate, and as the newly wed couple left to find the sun, his wife said, “He’s going to eat it!”
Cindy Sefcik of the Easter Seals was thrilled with the overall results of this year’s Gingerbread Family Festival.
“This is such a good event,” said Faith Shiramizu, one of the army of volunteers who turned out to help the Easter Seals staff. “It makes my heart feel all warm when you see these parents working with their children.”
When she met the Zalick couple, Shiramizu’s outing at the Family Gingerbread Festival was complete as she congratulated the newly weds.
“Last year, we sold out at 58 or 59 kits,” Sefcik said. “And we had a lot of people asking for kits. This year, we brought in 104 kits and as of this morning, we sold 75 kits.”
But the weather played a role as a lot of gingerbread house creators opted to stay inside.
“With this weather, I don’t know,” Sefcik said. “But of the 25 kits available for walk-ins, we should be selling out again. This is already a 50 percent increase over last year, and everyone has a lot of fun.”
Gabriel Uemura-Cayetano was supposed to go to the baseball clinic that was re-located to the Kaua‘i High School gym, said his grandfather who sported a Kaua‘i Emeralds jacket from the Hawai‘i Winter League.
But he opted to come and make a gingerbread house, the grandfather said.
In an afternoon call to KQNG radio, Eileen Tweedy of the Easter Seals of Kaua‘i noted the event was a success, but due to the weather, people who pre-ordered kits can call the Easter Seals office starting Monday to make arrangements to pick up their kits to finish.
She said they also have about 10 kits available for anyone who wants to build gingerbread houses and these are also available by calling the Easter Seals office at 245-7141.
