New England's Biggest Gingerbread House Under Construction Now: Fast Tracked for Opening Dec. 6

NEWPORT, RI—Consider 20 gallons of royal icing -- the hard white stuff made from egg whites, icing sugar and sometimes meringue and lemon or lime. Then add 2,400 pieces of candy, some giant lollipops, and 350 pounds of organic gingerbread.

With those ingredients, the Newport Marriott's kitchen team is rolling up its sleeves to create New England's Largest Gingerbread Lighthouse.

It will stand 16 feet high and take 100 hours to bake build and decorate. The finished lighthouse will contain 1,600 gingerbread bricks.

And it's described as a working lighthouse, too.

The lighthouse will go on display Tuesday, Dec. 6 in the lobby of the Newport Visitor Information Center, 23 America’s Cup Ave. Complimentary parking is available in the garage at the Visitor Information Center, courtesy of the City of Newport.

Except for Christmas Day, the lighthouse will be open every day until Jan. 1. Sunday to Thursday, hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, the Visitors Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Santa Claus is scheduled to visit the gingerbread lighthouse on Sunday, Dec. 11 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Throughout the season, visitors are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to fill our sleigh for local food pantries.

The gingerbread lighthouse is part of Christmas in Newport, "a month-long celebration that embraces the non-commercial traditions of the holiday season. Marking its 46th year, white lights illuminate homes, shops, restaurants, city streets and the bustling wharves in a ritual representing candlelight from days gone by, when families would wait for their loved ones to return home from their seafaring adventures."

Photo Courtesy Discover Newport