May is National Preservation Month, and the Monroe County Historic Preservation Board of Review and the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission celebrate with the Fifth Annual Old-House Expo and Architectural Cake Contest. The Expo is designed to raise awareness of historic preservation through talks, lectures, or hands-on demonstrations. This year, the Rosemary P. Miller Lecture, hosted by the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission, will present guest speaker Julia Bache at 9 a.m. in Council Chambers. She will talk about her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, the nomination of Buck Creek Rosenwald School to the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more about Julia and her project, visit cakecontest.wordpress.com
The Architectural Cake Contest further raises awareness of historic preservation by fostering an appreciation of historic buildings, structures, and sites through the fun and creative medium of cake and icing. The contest is open to all interested bakers. In recognition of the Indiana Bicentennial, the stipulation for entering is that the cake represent a building, site, or structure in Indiana that is at least 50 years old. To view the cakes prior to cutting and to witness the judging process and announcement of the winners, visitors should arrive to the contest by 11 a.m. This year’s judges will be Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton; Nancy Hiestand, retired staff person to the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission; and Lynn Schwartzberg, general manager for One World Catering. For information about entering a cake in the contest, please visit cakecontest.wordpress.com Sponsors for this year’s event are One World Catering, Revolution Bike and Bean, Golden Hands Construction Inc., Springpoint Architects PC, Saunders & Associates Realtors, Lahn Law, NR Hiller Design Inc., Downtown Bloomington Inc., Bloomington Board of Realtors, Courtyard Marriott, and Deb Tomaro, RE/MAX Acclaimed Properties.