Bakers sought to create anniversary cake
by Stephen Dafoe
A 50th-anniversary celebration needs a cake, and the Morinville Community Library is hoping to find a baker to craft a custom cake for that half century milestone celebration later this year on Sept. 9.
The Library is inviting bakers from around the region to participate in their Cake Off competition May 6th at 2 p.m.
A panel of five judges, yet to be revealed, will dive into the cakes to determine the best. Judges are looking for three categories: taste, design, and relevance to the library and its 50th-anniversary theme.
First prize is a $150 contract to bake the 50th-Anniversary cake with credit given to the baker in all advertising, photos, and at the celebration, as well as a full review of the baker published on the library website. Second prize is a $50 gift card and recognition on the library website and social media, and third prize is a $25 gift card and recognition on the library’s website and social media.
Library Supervisor Ashley Cain said the topic of a themed cake to honour the anniversary came up during the first planning committee meeting, and that after further discussion, the plan for a cake competition was born.
“The main objective of the competition is to get people thinking of a design and pitching it to the judges,” Cain said. “The committee didn’t put any restrictions on the design so that participants will have the freedom to be as creative as they want. They’ve only asked that the cake design relates to the library and its anniversary. Otherwise, style, flavour, and ingredients are completely up to them.”
Cain said jut before the contest registration launch; the library sent a few dozen letters out to professional bakers around the region including some in Edmonton; however, to date, none have replied.
The library is hoping to have five bakers commit to competing May. 6.
“The committee appreciates that cake baking and decorating is a valuable skill – amazing, really – and can be time-consuming and costly,” Cain said. “So a $150 contract may not seem like the grandest of prizes. However, because the library is a registered charity, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing community services to thousands of people, they hope to attract people willing to be involved for the sake of the occasion. Fifty years of library services in a rural community is a big deal. It is something worth celebrating, and the planning committee has some big plans for the special day. The help of a creative baker would be the icing on the cake.”
Registration runs until May 1 and can be made by phone, email or in person at the library. Participants are asked to put down a deposit of $20 to hold their spot, which will be returned at the competition.
For more information email info@morinvillelibrary.ca or call 780-939-3292.
Joy Brodniansky Thimer