Writer Joseph J.Airdo // Photography by Suzan Doran

Arizona is known for many amazing architectural styles — Midcentury Modern, Spanish Mission, Spanish Colonial. However, one architectural style in Prescott has emerged as a particularly popular choice for the colorful creativity with which it can be decorated to taste, the scintilatingly sweet aroma it emits and its entirely edible construction.

For more than three decades, Prescott Resort and Conference Center has hosted in its halls during the holidays one of the largest gingerbread village displays in the world, illuminating the Christmas season with the warmth of friends, family, creativity and community.

“It truly takes a village to make the village,” says Suzan Doran — whose official title may be property controller for Prescott Resort and Conference Center but is also endearingly referred to as “mayor of the gingerbread village.”

The story of this enchanting holiday tradition traces its roots back 31 years to when the resort first opened its doors to guests. What began as a modest display has since grown into a magnificent showcase of creativity and community spirit.

“I have a couple of really special groups that I have known throughout my 15 years [spearheading the display] so that now grandma, daughter and 11-year-old granddaughter are all participating in it,” says Doran, noting that the display is also a competition with various categories for youth, schools, families, businesses and nonprofits. “At one point, we even had a chefs’ category. Chefs from all over the state would participate and do a really big presentation of it.”

Roughly 45 120 participants purchase “lots” — ranging in size from “cottage” to “estate” — in each year’s village, with proceeds benefiting Prescott Area Hungry Kids Project. Each entry is eligible for prizes in what has become quite a compelling competition.

“There are some gals from the accounting department at Ruger, which is a local gun manufacturing company here in Prescott, who put together a fabulous display that wins just about every year,” Doran adds. “It is all blind judging. Nobody knows who is behind each [gingerbread house]. So that just goes to show you how phenomenally creative some of these people are when there are repeat winners every year.”

Doran typically encourages participants to start with store-bought gingerbread house kits and leftover Halloween candy, then let their creativity run wild. This approach unleashes a world of imagination, enabling anyone to craft a piece of the village’s magic.

“Just like any other village, you see all sorts of different styles of homes and other buildings,” says Doran, adding that while there is no prescribed theme and the competition is an open canvas for creativity, each year’s village tends to always include a few churches, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Castle and elements of Halloweentown from “A Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Doran adds that the gingerbread village is open around the clock through New Year’s Day and one need not be a guest of Prescott Resort and Conference Center to experience and explore its enchantment.

In addition to a model train that travels through the village, the resort also invites a group of local model train enthusiasts to contribute to the magic by exhibiting their antique and modern sets in a room adjacent to the display on Saturday, Dec. 2, providing additional delight to those who may be visiting Prescott for its Christmas parade and courthouse lighting that day.

“It is team-building, family-building and a treasured tradition just like so many others that we all have in our families,” Doran says. “We all have those things that bring us back to when we were kids at Christmas.”

Acknowledging her own family’s traditions of putting up lights the day after Thanksgiving and exchanging secret cookie recipes that are only passed down through active participation in the baking process, Doran notes that the events and activities we share with our loved ones year after year are what make the holiday season so special.

“Whether someone participates or just comes up to walk around and see it, our gingerbread village has become an annual tradition for so many people,” Doran adds. “And everything about Christmas is tradition, right?”

31st Annual Prescott Resort Gingerbread Village
Through Jan. 1 // Prescott Resort and Conference Center // 1500 Highway 69, Prescott // Free // prescottresort.com