Long Beach’s beloved gingerbread villages will be on display through the end of the year, and residents can take classes from the master himself.
Residents don’t need to travel far to see Christmas lights and Long Beach landmarks within a wintery, wondrous mountain landscape. In fact, no need to hop on the I-15 or even venture past downtown.
The towering gingerbread village, sprinkled with cabins, frosting trees, gumdrops and well, lots of sprinkles, is the culmination of years of practice from Long Beach business owner and self-titled Master Gingerbread Maker Isaac Salgado.
For over a decade, Salgado has been creating these intricately decorated villages, bigger and more impressive each year. He chooses two downtown locations each holiday season to host his frosting-layered formations.
This year, residents can bask in the baked glory at Confidential Coffee (137 W Sixth St.) and the Historic Bembridge House (953 N Park Circle). The villages will be on display during regular business hours through the end of the year.
Salgado’s villages have come a long way from the 3-foot tall, 4-foot wide structure that was propped up in a park in the Willmore neighborhood, when his neighbor suggested the idea of displaying it at various businesses.
“I went from three houses to 10 and people just kept being blown away by it and I kept making it bigger,” Salgado said.
He got his gingerbread village-making chops during his time working at a country club, where he worked as the executive chef for seven years. The country club would build huge displays each year, and the habit stuck with Salgado after he left to start his own business.
While the villages at the country club were made with seemingly unlimited resources, Salgado’s villages are made with the help of community donations, and the displays reflect this spirit of giving.
Sprinkled throughout the enormous village are the names of people, businesses and organizations that donated at least $100 to make this year’s creation possible, written on signs and buildings along the cookie crumble roads, along the railroad tracks and in front of frosting-filled log cabins.
Salgado adds an element of surprise each year by recreating a gingerbread Long Beach landmark. In past years, he’s made the Villa Riviera, the International Tower and the ferris wheel at The Pike. This year, residents can recognize many of their favorite murals painted during the annual Long Beach Walls festival in miniature fashion.
“If you know Long Beach you can look and be like, ‘Oh I know that structure, I know that structure,’” Salgado said. “Just to give a little Long Beach feel to it.”
In total, each village takes about three days, Salgado said, including the time it takes to bake each piece of building, letting it rest to harden and carefully assembling the sugary structure.
Thankfully, he has two little helper elves (his daughters) who look forward to their family’s annual tradition and the decorating process. Salgado said they eagerly jumped into the practice, just as he did so many years ago at the country club.
This year Salgado has decided to spread the joy of his tradition by hosting his first-ever series of gingerbread decorating classes for children. For the next three weeks, a class will be hosted by Salgado (a.k.a. Santa Claus) where a child and adult can receive a decorating kit and take photos with Santa.
Gingerbread decorating classes will be scheduled as followed:
- Dec. 2 at The Pie Bar (450 Pine Ave.) from 11 a.m. to noon. Tickets cost $30.
- Dec. 10 at Confidential Coffee (137 W Sixth St.) from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $45.
- Dec. 17 at The Pie Bar from 11 a.m. to noon. Tickets cost $30.
All tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Residents can view the gingerbread village at Confidential Coffee (137 W Sixth St.) Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To view the village at the Bembridge House, residents must purchase a ticket for tours, which are hosted for $15 on Saturdays, Sundays and Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Both villages will remain on display through the end of the year.
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