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Twice is nice for GingerBread Jubilee winner "The Gingerbread Man" took first place and $500 in the mixed age group category for Bill, Natalie, Ryan, Amelia and Kate Gladbach with Connie Derek. [Mail Tribune / Andy Atkinson] Thursday Nov 16, 2017 at 5:28 PM Nov 16, 2017 at 5:55 PM Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune @thewholedish Vowing that she’d “go big, or go home,” Kate Sharbono delivered in grand fashion at this year’s GingerBread Jubilee. The baking contest’s Best in Show winner envisioned “Santa’s Workshop” as a veritable village, complete with a gift-laden locomotive and a clock tower counting down to Christmas. It was the second consecutive year that Sharbono, a relative newcomer to the competition, claimed top honors and the $1,000 prize. “Absolutely anybody can do it,” said the 43-year-old Eagle Point resident, who manages Medford’s Red Lobster restaurant. Sharbono established her winning reputation in last year’s Jubilee by paying homage to her hometown’s beloved Butte Creek Mill, which burned on Christmas 2015. Familiar faces numbered among the 15th annual event’s other winners, who took home more than $3,500 in cash prizes among three categories. Their entirely edible creations will be auctioned during Friday’s sold-out gala dinner at downtown Medford’s Collier Center for the Performing Arts. The benefit’s nearly 50 gingerbread sculptures will be on public display Saturday through Monday at the Collier. Admission is $3 per person. “My mom turned to me one time and said, ‘You need to do this,’ ” said Sharbono, recalling the sweet spectacle of past Jubilees. “I look forward to it every year.” The Jubilee, in its 14-year history, has generated approximately $1.2 million for Craterian Performances and drawn nearly 30,000 visitors from around the region. Proceeds help to cover more than 40 percent of the nonprofit theater’s operating expenses unfunded by season ticket sales, said Aspen Droesch, development director for Craterian Performances. “This year should be truly amazing,” said Droesch. “The theater will be decked out in crystal in celebration of the Jubilee’s 15th year, and our halls will be filled with incredible musicians and performers to get everyone in the holiday spirit.” Holiday-themed entries dominated the baking contest and claimed five of its top 10 spots. “A Fairy Merry Christmas” earned frequent competitor and former Harry & David baker Shannon Haptonstall $250 and second-place honors in the adult category, behind Amy Knighton’s “A Woodland Fairy Tale” cottage perched beside a tranquil stream, which judges rewarded with $500. “Merry Santa” gifted Gail Carpenter with third place and $100 among adult bakers. Repeat student winner Samantha Hyde teamed up with fellow students Madi and Jenna Shumway to win first place and $500 in their category for “Paradise Pier,” a colorful amusement-park scene with fountains, a roller coaster, Ferris wheel and carousel. Allie Rist’s “Safari” won the student category’s second-place prize and $250. Students Michael McCuen and Sean Donohue skated to third place and $100 on the merits of “Santa’s Rink.” A quaint farm scene depicting “The Gingerbread Man” fairy tale claimed first place and $500 in the mixed age group category for Bill, Natalie, Ryan, Amelia and Kate Gladbach with Connie Derek. Christopher and Lana Hyde, the category’s second-place winners in 2015, reclaimed their spot and $250 with “Snow Globes." Dave Gray and family’s “Yule Love Yummies” won third place and $100. — Freelance writer Sarah Lemon is author of The Whole Dish blog. Reach her at [email protected].