Unique SF-themed gingerbread village set to debut at Fisherman's Wharf
Unique San Francisco-themed gingerbread village debuts at Fishermans Wharf
The New York City based artist who holds the Guinness World Record for the largest gingerbread village ever created will debut a new San Francisco-themed creation at Fishermans Wharf next week. He takes KTVU behind the scenes for a preview. It will be unveiled Thursday, December 5. The exhibit will be free to the public daily through January 12, 2025.
SAN FRANCISCO - A unique San Francisco-themed gingerbread house village will make its debut to the public next week at Fisherman's Wharf.
The artist, Jon Lovitch, flew to the Bay Area from New York City on Friday afternoon to put the finishing touches on the project and invited KTVU for a behind-the-scenes look.
The exhibit is located inside a storefront across the street from the Ferris Wheel on Jefferson Street.
Lovitch said he loves this area and hopes the display will encourage visitors and locals to come to Fisherman's Wharf.
"Right now, I'm just adding icing to patch all the whole back here," the artist said as he worked on the Gingerbread Lane exhibit.
It is a village of almost 700 gingerbread houses. He described the creation as a love note to the city.
"We have the Embarcadero. We have Santa Sourdough by the Wharf. Donner Blitz Chowder House and one of my favorite touches is this crab trap tree," said Lovitch as he pointed to houses created to highlight what San Francisco has to offer.
The New York City-based artist said he started building gingerbread houses from scratch 30 years ago.
His first creation was a 14-house village when he worked as the executive chef for a hotel.
"We live in a world that's dominated by so many negative things, so much bad stuff going on, to bring happiness to people for a few minutes."
Lovitch said people's joyful reaction is why he loves building the exhibits. His passion eventually led him to craft these sweet, sugary houses full-time.
His largest village to date is one with 1,251 houses. It earned him a Guinness World Record for the largest gingerbread village ever constructed.
On that night, he gave a KTVU crew a close-up look at his creative process while building the San Francisco exhibit.
He went outside, armed with a cookie and some icing to re-create the Big Bus Tours logo to add to the display. The company sponsored Gingerbread Lane, bringing the gingerbread village to the West Coast for the first time.
Lovitch said he makes everything himself from scratch and hopes to inspire others to learn the craft.
The Fisherman's Wharf Community Benefit District will host workshops.
Lovitch said the beauty and charm of these houses are in their imperfections.
"They have flaws. They're not perfect. These are not competition pieces," said the artist. "This is something anyone can make at home because the only ingredients we use are icing, gingerbread, and candy."
This Gingerbread Lane exhibit will be unveiled to the public on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, through Jan. 12, 2025, at 145 Jefferson Street on Fisherman's Wharf.
It will be open daily from 12 to 8 p.m. and admission is free.
For more information on the exhibit and workshops, visit here. www.fishermanswharf.org
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU