The following is a republished press release from the Sophie Fund and NOT written by the Ithaca Voice … click here to submit community announcements directly to The Voice, or contact me at msmith@ithacavoice.com.
ITHACA, NY —Monica Lee Cotto took home the Grand Prize Saturday among 57 contestants competing in the 1st Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest held in the Ithaca Commons.
Her winning entry was a pumpkin cheesecake cupcake, set in a chocolate cage and topped with a confectionery yellow and coral rose and a butterfly crisp.
Second prize went to Becca Johnson, who submitted a “pear-y” maple mandarin cupcake with a vanilla buttercream frosting. Aušra Milano captured third prize with a banana cupcake with cream cheese icing crowned by a fragment of toffee. The contest was organized by The Sophie Fund, established earlier this year in memory of Cornell University art student Sophie Hack MacLeod to support suicide prevention and other mental health initiatives aiding young people in the Ithaca community.
The event was sponsored by the GreenStar Natural Foods Market.
Various community and campus organizations were on hand to support the contest: Cornell Minds Matter, Phi Sigma Pi, and Alpha Phi Omega from Cornell University; and the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service and Mental Health Association in Tompkins County.
“This raises support for an organization which is doing important work in our community that needs support and visibility,” said George Ferrari, Jr., CEO of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County. “This is a great celebratory way of doing that. It’s a way of building a community where everyone takes care of each other. We all have times when we need help and need to reach out and ask for help. This encourages people to both help and also to ask for help if they need it.”
Receiving an Honorable Mention as well as the Best Youth Award was 9-year-old Natalie McCaskill-Myers. Her batch of lemon cherry cupcakes with lavender were decorated with an Eiffel Tower, the Egyptian Pyramids, and a cat representing the life of Sophie MacLeod.
The full list of winners in the 2016 Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest:
1st Prize:
Monica Lee Cotto
2nd Prize:
Becca Johnson
3rd Prize:
Aušra Milano
Honorable Mention:
Zoë Dubrow
Stephanie Harris
Natalie McCaskill-Myers
Holly Lopez
Audrey and Isaac Greene
Best Youth Award:
Natalie McCaskill-Myers
Healthiest Award:
Reba McCutcheon
Best Gluten Free Award:
Tamarynde Cacciotti
Top Vegan Award:
Patti Meyers
Best Sprinkles Award:
Amber Pierson
Best Cupcake-Sundae Award:
Rebekah Long
Best Filling Award:
Lena Bartell
Creamiest Filling Award:
Veronica VanCleave-Seeley
Best Surprise Inside Award:
Robyn Schmitt
The Cavity Award:
Claire Litwin
Richest Icing Award:
Emily Dvorak
Best Frosting Award:
Brook Smith
Most “Fall” Award:
Katherine Estaque
Nuttiest Award:
Sadie Hays
Most Beautiful Butterfly Decoration Award:
Alexa Martin
Best Embellishment Award:
Lisa Kellmurray
Berriest Frosting Award:
John Gunn
Berry Berry Good Award:
Gabriella Thurmond
Most Soothing Award:
Linda Linton VanNederynen
Most Intricate Topping Award:
Summer Saraf
For more information about The Sophie Fund, go to www.thesophiefund.org
