Scientology Fort Harrison Gingerbread House Brings Holiday Cheer
The Church of Scientology celebrates the season with a four-foot gingerbread replica of the historic Fort Harrison
Clearwater, Florida, boasts one of Pinellas County’s largest gingerbread houses, now open for viewing at the historic Fort Harrison. A month in the making, the gingerbread house is a scale replica of the fully restored 1926 iconic hotel, now the Fort Harrison religious retreat, from the 10th floor terrace to the front portico.
Standing four-feet tall in the lobby of the Fort Harrison Auditorium, the house comprises 185 pounds of gingerbread, 95 pounds of frosting, more than 2,000 pieces of candy, and 1,652 individual gingerbread-cookie shingles that cap the roof. An electric train circles the winter landscape setting.
Directly opposite the gingerbread house is an 11-foot gingerbread fireplace made of more than 170 pounds of gingerbread and 131 pounds of frosting.
“It took a lot of planning, muscle and some construction work,” said Fort Harrison Executive Chef Zoltan Vajna, “but it was so much fun to create it.”
Scientologists from around the world visit the Fort Harrison for the holidays and the gingerbread house, 20-foot Christmas tree, and magnificent Christmas ornaments throughout the hotel make them feel at home.
The gingerbread house will be the centerpiece of the annual Fort Harrison Holiday Brunch on December 9. More than 600 neighbors and friends are expected to attend.
“The Christmas decorations and gingerbread house really bring home the magic of the season and the child inside each of us,” said Pat Harney, spokesperson for the Church in Clearwater.
To see the gingerbread house and other Christmas decorations, call (727) 467-6860.
The Fort Harrison is the center of the international Church of Scientology religious retreat. Scientology is an applied religious philosophy developed by L. Ron Hubbard, which offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature. To find out more about Scientology, visit www.scientology.org.