Tonight, St. Albert’s 150th anniversary gala is about to unveil the largest cake the city has ever seen. And dĂ©cor designer Cory Christopher, 24, has created a modern day sculptural fantasy with homespun elements straight from the past.
This prestigious black tie event at Hole’s Enjoy Centre is the city’s must-attend event of 2011 with special guests Lt.-Gov. Donald Ethell and Premier Ed Stelmach leading the procession of dignitaries.
As guests arrive, Christopher’s elegantly conceived artistic vision will be first seen through two beautiful archways at the door and historical displays in the foyer complemented by stylish table centrepieces.
“There are traditional elements fused with modern style. And that’s the tension that’s created throughout the entire space,” Christopher explains.
But the piece de résistance is an eye-popping 15-foot-tall tiered cake built from various non-edible materials such as barn board, raffia, tissue, seed packets, yarn, burlap and wallpaper.
At first glance, each layer exudes a simple, unpretentious quality. For instance, the raffia symbolizes St. Albert’s agricultural roots; the seed packets are part of our botanic movement and the burlap taken from potato bags is a symbol of bountiful harvests.
Unifying the layers is a serpentine cascade of coloured tissue representing the four main colours of the 150th anniversary logo — red, blue, orange and apple green.
No one has ever accused Christopher of thinking small.
“I believe in big. Go big or go home. You have to take risks every day, even if they’re small ones.”
The Sturgeon County resident is a fountain of infectious energy that’s contagious to everyone around him. His artistic passions were partially fuelled by attending Victoria School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
“It was an extraordinary experience — to be in an environment that rejoiced in creativity.”
Wanting a liberal arts education, Christopher enrolled at Queen’s University graduating in 2008 with a bachelor of arts in theatre and opera. Returning to Edmonton, he directed and designed costumes for the 2009 opera Il Tabarro mounted on the Edmonton Queen riverboat.
But Christopher is carving a niche for himself with holiday decorating and special events. In 2009 he won the Festival of Trees’ gold award for a nine-foot decorated tree that told the story of a swan princess. In 2010, he upped the ante by dressing the festival’s entrance with a winter scene while taking part in St. Albert Senior Citizens’ Club’s Homes for Christmas.
For the anniversary cake, Christopher’s original concept was to represent each decade with a layer highlighting historical photos.
“Perhaps I was naive in understanding all aspects of the project, but I would have needed a staff of eight to do it. So I attempted to create a cake that has some of the same elements, but is more abstract and it is my gift to St. Albert.”
His command centre was a workshop at the family business, First Choice Tree Nursery and Garden, operated by his parents, Ron and Debbie Cherdarchuk. While Ron built layers from barn board, Debbie did much of the finicky work such as tea-dying sheets and wrapping yarn.
“When people see it, at first I want them to be in awe,” he said. “And then I love it when the curiosity sets in. And then I hope they tell their own stories as I attempted to tell St. Albert’s stories.”
