Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — If you're walking down Main Street outside the City Creek Center Macy's this holiday season, take a moment to notice the larger-than-life Christmas ornaments adorned with candy versions of Utah's favorite scenes.
Macy's unveiled its annual Holiday Candy Windows Thursday, continuing a beloved tradition that dates back to the early 1970s. For this year's windows, six local artists were tasked with using only candy to decorate Christmas ornaments based on what inspires them most about the Beehive State. The results are as unique as each of the artists themselves, and each creation shows off a bit of the diversity, beauty and variation in Utah's rich landscape.
"It's definitely a labor of love," artist Jeff Rollo said about his creation, which incorporates Utah's animal life, as well as some of the locations Rollo remembers best from his childhood family trips.
"I'm a biology major, so I'm trying to focus on basically the three main ecosystems of Utah," Rollo explained. His design includes moose, birds and other animals, and a large Bryce Canyon scene that he got his family members to help him put together.
Artist Jennifer Vesper's inspiration comes mainly from the plentiful recreation opportunities around the state.
"That's why I love Utah, because there's variety from north to south," Vesper said. "So I started in the north with the Golden Spike train and a skiing Santa, and then I moved south with goblins and an arch."
Vesper pieced together sugary candies and jelly beans to cover the 42-inch styrofoam ornament, which she estimates she spent more than 100 hours working on.
The artists were enlisted by Macy's in July and received their supplies in early October. Since then, they've been working hard every chance they could get to make the magic come together before Thursday's unveiling.
For Vesper, who is used to decorating cakes, the task has been a blast. Decorating the ornament took more time, she said, but it was actually easier.
"You have actual glue, instead of when you're working with cakes and water and frosting are all you've got."
Her favorite part has been getting to know the other artists and seeing their creations.
"We were all given the same theme, but I don't think there's a duplicate anywhere," Vesper said. "Everybody has very different styles and visions, and it's just fun to see everything come together."
The other ornaments were designed by Utah artists Neil Brown, Geri Cordova, Abigail Hays and Brian Johnson, and all will be on display through the new year.
Rollo, who grew up in Logan and remembers driving down to ZCMI to see the candy windows during his childhood, hopes everyone who comes this year will enjoy them as much as he did the first few times he saw the windows.
"In the end, it's such a magical experience. I hope everyone who comes really enjoys it."
