10th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest

Warm up your ovens, Tompkins County amateur bakers, because it’s almost time for the 10th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest.

The Sophie Fund is inviting home pastry chefs young and older to enter the contest by bringing

your delights down to the Bernie Milton Pavilion in the Ithaca Commons on Saturday, Oct.

18.

Contestants are eligible for dozens of awards, including a Grand Prize valued at $250 and a

Youth Award for teens and pre-teens valued at $100.

The contest is open to non-professional bakers who are residents of Tompkins County or are

enrolled students or employees at local colleges and schools.

For all the information on contest procedures and rules, and the Contest Registration Form, go to the “Cupcake Contest” page at The Sophie Fund’s website: https://thesophiefund.org/cupcake-contest/.

Bakers may register online in advance here, or download the Contest Registration Form and

bring it to the contest venue with their cupcakes.

Contestants must submit trays of six cupcakes, their recipes, and brief stories about their

creations. Submissions are received from 10 a.m. to noon.

Entries will be judged by professionals from Ithaca’s bakeries and restaurants. Judging is based

on cupcake taste, decoration, and originality. Winners will be announced at an Awards

Ceremony at 3 p.m.

The 10th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest is sponsored by Visions Federal Credit Union,

Cayuga Health, Wegmans, and Well Said Media.

Leaders from local mental health organizations will host information tables and be available to

answer questions from the public. Musicians will perform on stage from 2 to 3 p.m. Ithaca bakeries will hand out free treats.

College student organizations supporting the contest include: Cornell Circle K; PATCH (Pre-

Professional Association Towards Careers in Health); Alpha Phi Omega, RISEUP, and Hotel Graduate Student Organization.

The cupcake contest is organized every year by The Sophie Fund, which was established in 2016 in memory of Cornell University fine arts student Sophie Hack MacLeod to support mental

health initiatives aiding young people. Sophie’s passion for baking cupcakes inspired the launch

of the first Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest in 2016. At the time of her death by suicide at age 23, while on a medical leave of absence from Cornell University, Sophie was active in Ithaca’s

vibrant culinary scene.