Building a better holiday

Building a BETTER holidayby Brian J. Lowney

The magic of the holiday season will come alive once again as the staff and youth of Saint Vincent’s Services in Fall River gather to bake and decorate a colorful spectacle of gingerbread houses and cookies as part of the gala holiday celebration!

The festive holiday event is spearheaded by Chef Gloria Cabral, coordinator of the Baking and Pastry Arts and Culinary Arts programs at Bristol Community College, and Cameron DeGrazia of Acushnet, Food Service Manager at Saint Vincent’s Services. Last year the event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but this year it’s back, and not a moment too soon! The annual gingerbread festival is traditionally held on “Black Friday,” the day following Thanksgiving. While the gingerbread decorating event is not open to the public, pictures will be posted online during the month of December. DeGrazia, who joined the staff at Saint Vincent’s Services four years ago after working in local area restaurants for several years, says that the almost 100 youth that are cared for “all enjoy and look forward to making and decorating the gingerbread houses and cookies.” Unsurprisingly, turnout is universal among the youth, who tend to enjoy sampling the delicious candies just as much as they do slathering on the frosting and constructing the colorful creations. “Whatever they don’t eat makes it onto a house,” DeGrazia quips, adding that the residents of Saint Vincent’s, who range in age from three to 18, all share in the holiday fun and help each other to create the projects. “We build 10 gingerbread houses,” he continues, adding that the construction is a day-long, fun-filled process. According to DeGrazia, the kinds generally enjoy cooking, baking, and working in the kitchen. He teaches a cooking fundamentals class where they can learn how to read recipes, prepare simple meals, and get to know their way around the kitchen. “We also have cultural nights where staff and youth celebrate ethnic and religious traditions and sample various cuisines,” he says. Chef Cabral has helped coordinate the gingerbread event for the past decade. She initially began working at Saint Vincent’s with Maggie Steele, who studied at BCC under Cabral, and coordinates the holiday production with DeGrazia. “It’s rewarding for our family to help,” the popular chef emphasizes. “It reminds us of what we are thankful for. The youth are putting their own creative spin on the gingerbread houses and for many, it’s a new experience. They’ve never made a gingerbread house or decorated a gingerbread cookie.” In addition, the chef has become a visiting resource at Saint Vincent’s Services, assisting in various projects throughout the year, and one youth has continued to be an active member of Cabral’s family for more than 12 years. Readers interested in donating to Saint Vincent’s Services can visit SaintVincentsServices.org and click on the “donate now” button. Donations can be directed to the programming led by DeGrazia and the Food Service Team by requesting so in the “notes” section.