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Arts & Entertainment

Sweet Success at the Whitehall Public Library

Creativity and culinary skills came together for a unique festival on Saturday afternoon, as edible depictions of books competed for prizes.

It was an afternoon of confection and perfection in the Community Room of the on Saturday while the held its first .

The event was a chance for adults and children alike to showcase their creative and culinary talents by constructing an edible work of art that related in some way to books.

But the event wasn’t just about showcasing talents. It was also about winning prizes. Best in Show and People’s Choice prizes were awarded to winners in adult and child categories. Other prizes were awarded for the Most Realistic and Funniest/Punniest creations, as well as in recognition of artistry.

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The Whitehall Library’s Adult Program Coordinator Denise Ignasky said that she got the idea for the Edible Book Festival after attending a Pennsylvania Library Association conference last fall. While at the conference, Ignasky had heard of the success of a similar event at a library in the central part of the state.

Ignasky said that it sounded like a fun event that people in the Baldwin-Whitehall area would enjoy. Together with other library staff, she developed a set of rules for the contest, dictating things such as that each edible creation must depict a fictional or non-fictional literary work, character or theme; and, that each entry must be edible, with the exception of small garnishing items.

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Creations were labeled by numbered signs that also contained the book and author information to which the art pertained. Entrants’ names were not listed on the signs so that judging could be conducted in the most unbiased way possible, Ignasky explained.

Ignasky reported that there were approximately 36 entries, five of which were from children, or groups of children, aged 12 or younger.

Among the many mealtime masterpieces were depictions of books from the Twilight and Harry Potter series. Some of Dr. Seuss’ rhymes and riddles were creatively portrayed, as were other children’s books like Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

While most of the works of edible art were either cakes or made of cake, a few entrants used other food items to sculpt their creations. A potato and spices floated in a pot to depict Stone Soup, and a fully loaded hoagie, or hero, was constructed to represent Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life.

Gelatin, fruit, vegetables, spices and luncheon meats were among the other edible media used in the entries.

Ignasky joked that she didn’t envy the task that a panel of judges faced in selecting the festival’s winners. The judging panel consisted of Russ Walker, a Whitehall Library Board of Directors member and a retired reading teacher; Librarian Ann Sopczynski; Philip Lahr, a professional artist and a member of the Whitehall Borough Council; Joan Kugler, an English teacher at Elizabeth Forward High School; and Arlene Burnett, a freelance food journalist.

Burnett said that her judging criteria included how close the art came to the images of the theme of the book that it depicted, and the creativity of each interpretation and edible items used. For children’s entries, Burnett said that she also considered the amount of time and work that probably went into the projects.

Despite whatever difficulties that they faced in selecting winners, the judges announced the following panel-selected awards.

Adult Best in Show: For her artful rendition of the Stephanie Plum series, Karina Palko was recognized as the Adult Best in Show. Palko received a prize basket including, among other things, a 12-piece Bella Cucina rocket blender set and a six-piece CorningWare set.

Child Best in Show: Devon and Allison Schroeder received the Child Best in Show prize. The girls teamed up to depict The Key to Rondo, which won them a basket of prizes filled with things like a cupcake maker and a $25 Toys “R” Us gift card.

Most Realistic: Picnic! A Day in the Park was the piece that won Michelle Rorison an insulated rolling cooler filled with Pepsi products, her prize for Most Realistic.

Funniest/Punniest: Love in the Time of Cholera may be a very serious book, but Debby Rampolla’s depiction won the Funniest/Punniest prize, which consisted of a cake-pop maker and a pig-shaped whisk.

Artistic Recognition: Pre-teens Morgan Traud and Fiona Selden were recognized for their outstanding artistry in representing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The gals received a cake as their prize.

People’s Choice, Child: Traud and Selden cooked up another win for their Harry Potter work, claiming the People’s Choice award and a gift basket with a gift card and digital coin counter inside.

People’s Choice, Adult: Two wooden cutting boards and a set of glass measuring bowls were some of the gifts in the basket that Kathy Koltas received for her edible rendering of A Very Hungry Caterpillar, which was the People’s Choice in the adult category.

While the winners walked away with some pretty terrific prizes and impressive titles, they weren’t the only ones rewarded for their presence at the event. Guests enjoyed refreshments such as cheese, cake and punch, as well as coffee donated and served by Steve Anderson, franchise owner of the Caribou Coffee in Brentwood Towne Square.

Volunteer cake artists provided cake-decorating demonstrations. Carol Sohl of showed how to decorate a cake with icing, while fondant decorating was demonstrated by Sue Reis, owner of The House of Cakes.

Those who wanted to try their own hands at decorating were given the chance at a cupcake-decorating station, where cupcakes and a myriad of icings and other toppings were found. The station was primarily set up for use by children, but adults were allowed to create there, as well.

Area bakeries, such as Giant Eagle’s, Bethel Bakery and Pastries A-La-Carte donated cakes that were raffled off. donated a gift certificate for the raffle.

The final main attraction at the event was the library’s display of novelty-cake pans, representative of the library’s collection of 15 pans that can be borrowed, just like a book, in a three-week circulation.

The Whitehall Public Library is the first library in Allegheny County to have and lend out such a collection, according to Ignasky.

Ignasky said that she and her colleagues hope to make the festival an annual event and that they would like to see more children enter in the future.

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