Erie Canal Museum Expects More People to Visit Gingerbread Display.

TYLER O’NEILL: Run run run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man, or actually, you can. Reporter Sammy Lindell has the story.

SAMMY LINDELL: You can catch about 30 gingerbread houses on display at the Erie Canal Museum, and more people are anticipated to visit this year compared to last year.

NATALIE STETSON: “Pre-COVID times we would see about 6 thousand people between Thanksgiving and New Year. Last year that was down to 2 thousand people, this year I feel like we’re probably I don’t know 4 thousand like somewhere in the middle.”

SAMMY LINDELL: Natalie Stetson, the Executive Director of the Museum says that anyone and everyone is welcome at all times.

NATALIE STETSON: “Last year you had to make an appointment to come in. You had to pre-reserve your time. We created a virtual version of the gallery.”

SAMMY LINDELL: And this year, the museum is prepared to do the same thing if COVID-19 becomes more of a concern. Natalie says that the demographic of bakers has changed over the past few years.

NATALIE STETSON: “Pre-COVID we used to have submissions from nursery schools and like troops–like girl scout troops and boy scout troops. And the past two years we haven’t seen any of those.”

SAMMY LINDELL: COVID-19 has prevented those types of groups from gathering, so the museum is mostly seeing submissions from small groups of friends and families. This is Sammy Lindell N-C-C News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)— The Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse has a gingerbread creation gallery on display until Jan. 9, 2022. These creations compete for prizes. The participants range from amateurs to bakers, and they are separated into judging groups based on skill and age.

Natalie Stetson said that last year, they had around 2,000 people come through the gallery, but pre-COVID-19 they saw around 6,000. She expects there to be 4,000 visitors—somewhere in the middle.

Since the exhibit has been open for 36 years, Stetson said that she remembers the families that come every year.

“We see the same faces,” Stetson said. “It’s a generational thing.”

They had a virtual exhibit last year, and though the museum is not planning on doing it this year, they are prepared for any changes COVID-19, and the newfound Omicron variant may bring.

The number of submissions has not changed over the past few years, as they usually range from thirty to forty creations, but the demographic has.

“Pre-COVID we used to have submissions from nursery schools and like troops and boy scout troops. And the past two years we haven’t seen any of those,” Stetson said.

Due to COVID-19, these groups have not been able to gather together, so the exhibit mostly has creations from small groups of friends and family.

Stetson said that the museum has so much more to offer than just the gingerbread exhibit, so make sure to check out all of the museum.