Visions of gingerbread houses will be dancing in your heads as the first SOGO Gingerbread House Contest quickly approaches this holiday season.

From Nov. 17 to Dec. 17, the SOGO District of downtown Pensacola will be decorated with gingerbread houses, made by the participants of the contest.

Not only will the gingerbread house contest bring some Christmas cheer to downtown, but also proceeds from the contest benefit the Health and Hope Clinic, a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare services to the uninsured in our community.

Along with the judged winners, there will be a “People’s Choice” competition during the gingerbread display time. The public can purchase tickets at SoGourmet and vote for their favorite gingerbread houses as many times as they would like. All ticket purchases will also go to benefit the Health and Hope Clinic.

The contest, with prizes adding up to more than $10,000, will reveal it’s judged winners at an Awards Ceremony at the end of the display period.

The celebrity judges for the first SOGO Gingerbread House contest are:

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The breakdown of the prizes include:

• Judge’s Choice
  • Best in Show - $5,000
  • First place - $2,000
  • Second place - $1,000
• Teen Baker
  • First Place - $500
  • Second Place - $200
• Child Baker
  • First Place - $100
  • Second Place - $50
• People’s Choice - $1,000
• Fan Favorite - $500

 Details: Visit the website, Facebook, or email Daniel Pennington.

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The judges who will be judging these creative gingerbread houses for the 2014 SOGO Gingerbread House Contest are:

• — Julio Diaz is the Entertainment Editor at the Pensacola News Journal. Diaz oversees all aspects of the entertainment coverage, including GoPensacola.com, the Weekender and Food & Wine.

• — Angela Johnson, head pastry chef at the Pensacola Beach Hilton is not only one of the judges, she is also a gingerbread expert. Johnson is here to help with all the gingerbread questions and has gingerbread tips and tutorials on the SOGO Gingerbread Facebook page.

• — Donna Kirby is the Director of Guest Services and Community Relations for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Prior to this, Kirby worked in merchandise planning for Warner Bros., NBC/Universal, and The Walt Disney Company.

• — Brent Lane is the Cat Pak Morning Show host on Cat Country 98.7. Lane is an active member in the community and philanthropic organizations.

• — Teri Levin, community volunteer and activist, is a SOGO supporter who appreciates every form of art, even gingerbread houses.

• — Brian Spencer is a founding principal of SMP Architecture, an architectural and planning firm located in downtown Pensacola. Spencer is also the recently re-elected City Councilman for District 6.

• — Lonnie D Wesley, III is the pastor of Greater Little Rock Baptist Church. Born and raised in Pensacola, Wesley joined Greater Little Rock in December of 2004.

“We reached out to different, well-known members of the community that would bring a diverse set of eyes to judge these gingerbreads,” says Daniel Pennington, SOGO Gingerbread House Contest Project Manager.

The gingerbread houses will be judged on certain criteria, overall appearance and appeal, originality and creativity, difficulty, precision and neatness, and consistency of theme.