While a 42-foot-tall Christmas tree from Mount Shasta is at the epicenter of A Holiday Confection, the deliciously designed winter wonderland installed at The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, its main theme—in a word—is “gingerbread.” A visual feast highlighted by a walk-through, 25-foot-high gingerbread cottage in the Conservatory’s East Bed awaits all ye faithful arriving to promenade around the confines.
Gingerbread men abound. Gumdrops and peppermints serve as accoutrements. The scent of gingerbread mingles with cinnamon, causing flashbacks to kitchens of Christmas past.
“I wanted to make sure that this was a truly nostalgic holiday exhibit using gingerbread in all four beds,” said designer Ed Libby during an on-site tour. Libby collaborated with the Conservatory team, plus a few culinary all-stars, for more than a year to develop the display. “We decided to ask the pastry chefs to get involved and make a real gingerbread house with us.”
Although nearly every part of A Holiday Confection looks good enough to eat, nothing within reach is digestible. The fact that signs had to be put up reminding guests not to eat the design elements is a testament to the success of the exhibit. The gingerbread house designed by Bellagio’s pastry team is edible, but installed beyond reach of passersby in the North Bed.
The installation of the Victorian-style gingerbread house, constructed of real gingergbread, chocolate and candy inside an exquisitely designed egg against a backdrop of wintry scenes, courtesy of a state-of-the-art LED video wall, became an emotional moment for all involved.
“I’ve never seen a prouder moment than the three pastry chefs with the crane and the engineers loading the gingerbread house off the pastry cart and into the egg,” said Libby. “It was quite a moment. More than anything else, this was a collaboration of all the Bellagio teams.”
Libby started with gingerbread and the tree, of course. A sponsorship with Coca-Cola led to the inclusion of playful polar bears inspired by a timeless holiday television commercial. They share space with life-sized elves who benefit from a touch of motion magic. Tall toy soldiers stand guard amid countless rich red poinsettias.
A Coca-Cola toy train makes laps around the tree, emphasizing that romantic element, but several screens positioned around the area provide the point of view of a camera affixed to the engine pulling the cars. The tree is topped by a huge Swarovski star that needs to be seen against an evening’s backdrop to fully appreciate.
The sound of sleigh bells ringing may suddenly become part of the sensory smorgasbord. Audio accompaniment to the feast for optical and olfactory senses comes in the form of an ambient soundtrack, contributing a key element to the atmosphere.
“It is a huge collaboration,” said Libby of A Holiday Confection. “I ask for a lot of feedback about past exhibits, and the one thing that I do know when I see people walking through is people want to see a beautiful, lovely, romantic Christmas holiday.”
Bellagio, 702.693.7111
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