Guinness world record-setting gingerbread village returns to KC

Gingerbread Lane at the Steamboat Arabia Museum. // Photo by Emily Jacobs

Even after decades of living around the country, Jon Lovitch still thinks of Kansas City as home. As such, he’s brought his Gingerbread Lane display back for a second year.

“I grew up in Kansas City,” says Lovitch. “I haven’t lived there in close to 30 years, but it’s remained near and dear to my heart.”

For the past three decades, Lovitch’s career as a chef has taken him all over the country while he’s built gingerbread villages as a side hustle—all of which began here in Kansas City. However, at the pinnacle of his career in NYC, he decided to make Gingerbread Lane his full-time job, and he has zero regrets.

“I’ve been researching it and I can’t prove it conclusively, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only guy on planet Earth that makes gingerbread houses as a [full-time] job,” Lovitch laughs.

Lovitch has been working on bringing the latest rendition of Gingerbread Lane to life since the exhibit was at the Toy and Miniature Museum last holiday season. Because KC is one of four cities that are hosting Gingerbread Lane this Christmas, he has to spend the entire year between seasons putting together thousands of gingerbread structures, sometimes spending over 100 hours per week doing so. He largely does this himself as his form of art is uniquely self-taught, and he has highly specific visions for each of his displays that he finds easier to execute on his own. Lovitch then spends several weeks transporting all of the gingerbread structures to their respective cities and luckily, he says that all but a few arrive completely intact after being in the back of a truck across the country.

“I love it,” says Lovitch. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t. You could not do what I do without loving it. I really do enjoy having a job that I know I can make people very happy. It’s a pretty good feeling.”

Photo by Emily Jacobs

This year, Gingerbread Lane is set up in City Market, and Lovitch hopes that City Market could become the permanent location of Gingerbread Lane each year.

“We were more interested in being someplace that had a little bit bigger of a holiday-type audience,” says Lovitch. “We were trying to find a newer yet growing, expanding tradition so we could potentially become a holiday tradition there in town.”

Rows of hundreds of incredibly detailed, handmade edible gingerbread houses are arranged in a rectangular configuration, vast enough to impress but condensed enough to easily snag a photo in front of. However, photos don’t do the display justice—unlike other Christmas traditions, in this case, you have to see it to believe it.

“It’s one of those things you can come look at it and admire it for 10,15, 20 minutes and then look for details and appreciate all the little touches and nuances and forget about whatever the hell it is that’s going on,” Lovitch says. “It’s an ephemeral thing, it’s not gonna take your mind off what’s bothering you for a long time. But it can definitely create that momentary escape for minutes or hours even.”

Gingerbread KC Current Stadium. // Photo by Emily Jacobs

Gingerbread Lane will certainly put you in the Christmas spirit, no matter how Grinch-y you’re feeling this year. Though Lovitch has long featured certain KC landmarks in his miniature gingerbread cities—such as Crown Center’s ice terrace and Topsy’s Popcorn—a notable addition this year is a gingerbread replica of CPKC Stadium, the new KC Current stadium and the first women’s soccer stadium in the world, along with many nods to the Chiefs. 

Gingerbread Lane will be on display in the lobby of the Steamboat Arabia Museum across from the museum gift shop until Jan. 4.