Over the weekend, Carbondale’s Third Street Center was transformed into a tiny gingerbread town. 

Cookie houses covered in frosting, chocolates and sprinkles lined the tables of the Community Hall at Third Street Center, built — and later eaten — by volunteers and participants of the Buddy Program. 

“It’s a big frenzy of sugar and icing,” Buddy Program Executive Director Lindsay Lofaro said.

The Gingerbread Workshop is the biggest Buddy Program annual tradition, which just hit its 10-year milestone. The event sees nearly 100 Buddy Program youth, mentors, volunteers and local supporters come together to celebrate the holidays between two events in Carbondale and Aspen. 

“The purpose of the event is twofold,” Lofaro said. “First of all, it provides a really fun holiday activity for our big and little buddies … The second purpose of the event is to fundraise and bring awareness to our mission, and our mission is to empower youth through mentoring experiences to reach their full potential.” 

The Buddy Program is a one-on-one mentoring program where adult volunteers are matched with a youth between the ages of 6-18 in their community. These buddy pairs meet three to four times a month to spend time together and engage in a variety of free activities and special opportunities that are organized by Buddy Program staff. 

In addition to the 10th anniversary of the Gingerbread Workshop, the Buddy Program is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. 

“We oftentimes think that, ‘Oh, all the 8, 9 and 10-year-olds will be there.’ But what we find is all the 16, 17 and 18-year-olds really keep showing up too because it’s just become a really beloved tradition for them and their big buddies,” Lofaro said. 

One of the buddy pairs, Liz and Stella, have been buddies since August. Stella, 10, has attended the program’s gingerbread workshop once before, though her favorite part of the experience remains the same. 

“I like to eat the candy afterwards,” Stella said. 

For Liz Heller, this is her first year as a big buddy after working in a ceramics studio across from the Buddy Program office for several years. She said she was very familiar with them and had often thought about making the jump and joining the program. 

“I would donate work to them and I volunteered at this event a few years ago in Aspen,” Heller said. “And it was always my intention to do it, but honestly, my housing situation wasn’t secure. I didn’t know if I was going to stay or go, and then a year ago, my housing situation became secure and so my first thought was, ‘Oh, I’m going to apply to be a buddy.'” 

The Buddy Program approved Heller in April and presented her with Stella, who had been on a waitlist for six months. 

“My favorite part of the event is also the extra candy,” said Kara Lindahl, one of many attendees to share the same sentiment as Stella. Though one of many perks, she insisted it was only a small part of what the program offers. 

“I had no idea the relationship that would develop,” Lindahl said. “(My buddy) Brisa and I get along so well and we have such a nice time together, and it’s just fun to be matched with such a fantastic person.” 

“I think for a lot of our kids that are involved in our programs, they just really have come to look forward to it year after year, to take a break from the normal stresses of homework and sports practice or family or whatever’s going on,” Lofaro said. “It is just like Candyland in action.” 

At the center of the room lay a table filled to the brim with different kinds of candy; from marshmallows, to pretzel sticks, to a rainbow of gummies. After the buddy pairs were finished decorating their house, they made their way to the gingerbread photo booth decorated with balloon gingerbread men and candy. Their third and final stop was the wrapping table, where their creation was wrapped in plastic and a bright red bow, ready to take home and eat — but not all at once! 

Lofaro shared a special thanks to this year’s presenting sponsor, Coldwell Banker Mason Morse, as well as the many organizations that have supported them along the way. 

“We’ve been reaching out to a lot of the construction and design building community to support this event because it kind of goes with the theme of the gingerbread house, in the building and creating, and we’ve been really fortunate to have the support of so many of our local businesses to sponsor the event and sponsor the work that we do year-round,” Lofaro said. 

During the time when big and little buddies couldn’t gather for the event due to the pandemic, the Buddy Program turned their efforts to take-home gingerbread house kits so that participants and volunteers could still enjoy the tradition from their own homes. Coming out of the pandemic, the program still builds these kits and sells them to families who want to join in on the fun and support the program. 

Each gingerbread house kit purchase includes a $100 tax-deductible donation to the Buddy Program in support of their year-round youth mentoring programs. Anyone interested in purchasing a kit can visit their website at buddyprogram.org/gingerbreadhouse. 

“Seeing them at this event is always really heartwarming and special for me,” Lofaro said. “To watch them still take such delight in it and in their relationship with their big buddies and to witness that connection that they have built.”