Turning Stone Casino Gingerbread Village Honored, Christmas Competition Finalist

Posted on: December 28, 2021, 08:24h. 

Last updated on: December 28, 2021, 10:05h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

New York State’s Turning Stone Resort Casino gingerbread village recently was identified as a top US holiday display by Forbes magazine. Only 14 hotel properties nationwide made the list.

Many visitors already have come to the Verona, N.Y. gaming property to see the gingerbread village before and on Christmas. The village remains on view through New Year’s Day. The public is welcome.

The display is located close to the Oneida Indian Nation resort’s main entrance. It is near The Commons shopping boutiques.

Over recent years, the gingerbread display has become an annual event for Turning Stone. It started with just a few houses.

Today, it has grown into an immersive seasonal experience at more than 70 feet long with buildings that include a hotel, church, barn, bakery, and even a train station with a moving train, all created in intricate detail,” Dennis Miller, executive pastry chef, Turning Stone Resort Casino, told Casino.org.

One of the houses is decorated with what appears as snow-dusted roof tiles, the casino said in a statement. Another house features a roof covered in blue icing. The barn includes a candy cane facade. Its roof is made of Shredded Wheat. Train tracks connecting the houses.

The theme for the gingerbread village is “traditional holiday.” Some of the colors used are those associated with Christmas: green, red, gold, and silver, Bake Magazine, a specialty publication, reported.

6,500 Pieces of Gingerbread

Ingredients this year include 1,500 pounds of frosting, 132 pounds of fondant, 480 white chocolate Kit Kats, and more than 45 pounds of Shredded Wheat cereal. Also, 25 pounds of chocolate rock nuggets, as well as 6,500 gingerbread pieces and 2,500 Hershey Kisses.

In the past, mostly pastry team members worked to construct the display. But this year, some 40 employees from across the resort-casino worked on the project. It took them 200 hours.

We have a lot of fun showing off the talent of our extremely skilled pastry team,” Miller said. “It’s always exciting to surprise ourselves with what we can do in this medium.”

Other Holiday Decorations

The resort features other holiday decorations. Among the most prominent is a 40-foot indoor Christmas tree, as well as a 50-foot outdoor Christmas tree. Ornaments are included, too.

Beyond Turning Stone, other winners in the Forbes competition include the Waldorf Astoria in Chicago, the Mandarin Oriental in Boston, Four Seasons at Walt Disney World Resort, and The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla.