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"Inspired by the People of Ukraine" by Julianne Prekaski of Seattle, Wash.
"Suni Peep" by the O'Quinn family of Shoreview.
"Peeps Supporting Ukraine at a Local Twin Cities Favorite" by Jill Schaefer of Minnetonka took third place in the 2022 Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama Contest. It honors Kramarcuk's of Northeast Minneapolis and the Eastern European favorite's $3 cookie fundraiser for the people of Ukraine.
Pals Grace Boland and Joseph Doll, both 11, created this diorama of downtown St. Paul.
Look for the Giant Peep in this photo by Grace.
The Thames sisters created their diorama to honor their favorite sport of gymnastics.
A closer look at the gymnastics meet that makes up a diorama by the Thames sisters.
"Peeps Peanuts" by the Schomburg family.
"Egg-canto" by Eliza Milashius, age 9, and Anna Milashius, age 5.
This Encanto Peeps diorama was created by Marla (mom), Rowan (6) , and Adele (4) Feierabend. Marla writes: The children came up with the idea of recreating the Encanto movie poster and we worked together to select cardboard to glue together to make Casita, painted the house and background with tempera paint, glued on roofing and rails, then selected which peeps represented each character and carefully put them in place. The hardest part was painting with tempera paint and kids paintbrushes as sometimes the paint would go where we didn’t want it to be. The best part was working through different ideas on how to represent Casita. It was fun imagining what it could look like and it turned out even better than we imagined!
Dennis O'Neill, 9 (left), and Raymund O'Neill, 6, won an honorable mention for their Peeps diorama, "Vikings vs. Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium."
"Peeponardo Davinci's 'Last Supper'" by Gus Hirschboeck and McKaylie Morter.
"Peeps Confirmation at the Saint Paul Cathedral" by Jan Beatty, with Claire and Joe.
"Schitt's Peep ('Just Fold in the Cheese')" by Lori Anderson:.
Evey and Jonah DeJonge's diorama of Easter morning.
"Please find attached Hannah Lee Reinhard's diorama featuring Peeps," writes Connie Reinhard. "She is 10 years old. Her mother sent me the information about this contest as Hannah was coming to visit us (Grandma and Grandpa) for Spring Break. "Hannah brainstormed all evening and overnight to come up with her idea. We found a boot box for the display and she painted the inside several layers of white. "She knew of the 'Mona Lisa' and decided she would like a moaning ghost in her diorama. Thinking 'Moan-a-Lisa,' she went on to imagine a class on a field trip visiting the Louvre and seeing the ghost of DaVinci hovering near the painting. "The students' reactions varied from fright, fainting, laughing and skepticism. She used acrylic paint, lace, foam, yarn, interfacing, magnet letters, hot glue, sharpies and Peeps to create the diorama and had a lot of fun!"
"Our Peeps in the Hen House Chillin' With Their Peeps" by Josie Garza, 7.
"Camping Peeps!" by Annabelle, 10.
I'm entering my two grand daughters in the Peep Contest. They both came over and each made their own diorama. My name is Kirby Smith. They both thought of their own design and only needed some glue gun instructions from me. We have been doing a peep diorama for the last 5 years and really enjoy the process of planning, making and sharing great memories. The camping scene is from Anabel Batalden Age 9 and the underwater scene is from Madeline Batalden Age 11
Madeline Batalden, 11 (left), created an underwater scene, and Anabel Batalden, 9, made a camping scene for our 2022 diorama contest. (Photo: Kirby Smith.)
"Miracle on Ice: Victory over the CCCPeeps" by Kalena Doffing. "That's Coach Herb Brooks in the brown suit on the bench, and USA team captain Mike Eruzione in the front," Doffing writes. "Everything was home-made including the jerseys, hockey sticks, and hockey net, but unfortunately that is not a regulation-size hockey rink. "My favorite parts of the artistic process were watching the movie 'Miracle' (research) and trying all the different flavors of Peeps (also very important research)."
"Jesspeep Diggins" by Megan Kleinschmidt
"Attached is my diorama of The Peeps Masters," writes Grace Hughes. "It was fun creating this idea especially with the Masters going on this weekend. My co-creator, Chase, helped me think of Easter themed golf names; Peepka, Chickelson, Dehambeau. I used materials I found around the house. The driver club is made from a jelly bean and skewer stick. The golf ball is also a marshmallow."
Clara Walz, 9, created this camping scene with a bear box. Her inspiration? "My dad who loves camping. And the time we saw a black bear in our camp."
"Not a Peep About Bruno," inspired by the movie, "Encanto," was created by Aria Valencour, 9, with assistance from little sister Claire Valencour, 5.
"My name is Elsa and this is my entry for the peeps diorama contest. The title of this masterpiece is 'National Geographic: Peephistoric Terror.'"
Do you know your memes? This Peep entry, by Becky Tangalos of Austin, Texas, is a play on a meme featuring three Spider-Mans pointing at each other.
"One Giant Step for Peepkind!" by Louisa Scanlon, age 11: "Our diorama is showing Peeps astronauts discovering a brand new planet with Alien Peeps,"
"In-PEEPSON Learning (with NO Masks!)" by Meah Townshend, 13. "Meah spent her spring break thinking about school, while she created her masterpiece. Inspired by being in-person, seeing smiles again and loved creating everything by hand (cardboard chairs were especially challenging). Cardboard courtesy of Girl Scout cookie boxes!"
"In March 2020, to combat the spread of COVID-19, I transformed my Little Free Library into a Little Free Peep Show and I have been playing with my peeps ever since!" writes Cristie Kearny.
"Children's fairy tale inspired," writes Jessica Baloun. "The Peeps' outfits were drawn. The candy house was make from a small cardboard box, painted and embellished with ornaments made from the glue of a hot glue gun and hardened Play-Doh plus a few plastic candies and topped with a cookie roof and a frosted chimney with a cherry on top. "On the inside is a cardboard fireplace (that lights up with a battery powered tea light behind it) to push a Peep witch into and a cage to ensnare a little Peep boy (made from used drinking straws). There are stairs leading up to a secret room with the witch's treasure chest of jewels. "After the Peep show, my little ones will be happy to play Hansel and Gretel with their fun new candy house."
With "kerFLUFFLE in the Suez," Joe and Charley created a Peeps version of the Ever Given, the container ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal. They call this one the "Ever Fluffy." They wrote: "Got your boat stuck blocking the flow of global trade? Don't wallow in your MALLOW! My PEEPS know hot to deal with STICKY situations, And we certainly won't take our SWEET time about it! We'll have you out and on your JET-PUFFED way in no time!"
Another view of the "Ever Fluffy" by Joe and Charley.
"I harnessed my crafting, sugar and animal rescue addiction to create this glimpse into a Peeps universe," writes Lisa Kearns. "I sure had a lot of fun doing it! Thanks for the opportunity and the inspiration. "Welcome to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Peeps Rescue and Adoption Center (or SPCP)! It’s my pleasure to show you around this Peeptastic facility where we promote humane Peep care, adoption and the sweet, gooey joy of Peep life. "We are an all-breeds Peep rescue located in Coastal Virginia. We are in the midst of Peep season when we see a population explosion in the Peeps community at the beginning of Spring and peaking over Easter weekend. It happens every year despite our efforts to stress the importance of spaying and neutering your Peeps, a service we provide free of charge. There are so many Peeps who need loving, forever homes. Adopt, don’t shop. "Thank you for the opportunity to share our mission. Have a sweet holiday. "
"PeepX," a play on Elon Musk's SpaceX, by Marc Odden.
"The Golden Girls" by Nicole Mangan of Osceola, Wis.
“We are an adult day center located in Bloomington called Campus Club on the Martin Luther Campus,” writes Heather Liesenfeld, director of Adult Day Programs at the Martin Luther Care Center in Bloomington. “We chose to create a diorama that illustrates some of our favorite activities that we do at our adult day center. One group of peeps is playing Wii Bowling, one group is playing Monopoly, and one group is playing Kings in the Corner. Each participant created a Peep that looks like them -- adding a shirt and glasses – and decided which activity group his/her peep would be a part of. They then wrote their initials on the back of their Peep. Approximately 20 adult day participants worked together to create this Peeps diorama.”
A closer look at the Peeps playing cards in the "Peeps Adult Day Center Diorama."
The Peeps are playing "Monopoly" in this "Peeps Adult Day Center Diorama."
"Peeps for Peace Zoom Meeting," created by Mary Huot, Mary Rood and Elizabeth Rood for the 2022 Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama Contest. "This special trio comes together well when Granny Mary has an idea, while granddaughter Mary and her mom work together to bring it to life. The inspiration for this piece came to us as our 'norm' these last few years through Zoom meetings for work and school, and with what's going on across the world, we send peace and prayers in hopes of a better tomorrow."
"I had so much fun working on my diorama this year!" writes Cheryl Seamster. "I loved making all of the paintings and getting extra creative with it. Even included some help from our Lego collection to provide finishing touches. Hope you enjoy 'Peep & Paint!!'"
A wall of tiny canvases in Cheryl Seamster's diorama of "Hues Paint Bar."
A closer look at Cheryl Seamster's diorama, "Peeps & Paint," which has the Peeps working on tiny canvases.
The exterior of Cheryl Seamster's "Peeps & Paint" diorama.
The exterior of the Hues Paint Bar, a creation of Cheryl Seamster.
The paint bar's parking spots, by Cheryl Seamster.
2022 Peeps: “Owed to Carol” by Linda McConnell. “Yesterday on a whim I put this together,” writes Linda McConnell. “Cried through the whole process. I lost my friend Carol in November. This is the first year we have not talked about a Peeps diorama idea together. We only missed the first year otherwise we have always put in an entry. The last few years we have come up with ideas, but were unable to spend the day creating together a project we looked forward to each year. My heart wasn’t in it, but I gave it a shot. Here’s to you Carol.”
"The Peep Show Drag Brunch at the Sugar Shack" by Peggy Sanchez, Roxanne Sanchez and Doc Grauberger. "My family has always wanted to participate but we never got it together until this year. My daughter Roxanne is (as always) our director, visionary, persuader, cheerleader, head costumer -- who is anything if not tenacious. Ryan made us dinners and snacks. Doc designed and built the set. I managed the budget, props and some costumes. "The set is 3/4” = 1’ scale. The bathrooms were recently updated to prevent lines out the door. Any Peep can use either door despite the signage. The fire extinguishers were just replaced to meet code. "The team struggled with dressing the queens. We underestimated their strength to hold up their headpieces as well as hold their balance. They really didn’t seem to be trying. "The most difficulty came in getting the eyelashes on. They were not cooperative. Who could blame them when we kept gluing our fingers in their eyes? "The birthday group was a little rowdy as was the bachelorette party. "Props (just in case you are curious): The buffet table is from the Peeps packaging as is the stage. The chaffing buffet pans are jelly packets painted silver. The tables are cupcake wrappers on pizza box spacers. The stage lights are Christmas light sockets from a string of lights the squirrels chewed up. The lighting trusses are upcycled model train trusses. The wall paper is wrapping paper The buffet food is a variety of sprinkles and Runts candies. "Total build time: 23 hours (two nights, three hours, three people plus five miscellaneous helpers)."
The birthday group at the Sugar Shack's Drag Brunch.
The bridal party at the Sugar Shack's Drag Brunch.
Some of the regulars at the Sugar Shack's Drag Brunch.
"The Peepsons go to Birmingham -- 1963" by Cristie Kearny of Seattle.
The Davidson family writes: "Our entry is titled; 'Is it cake?, No it's a Peep.' Our family all worked on this entry: Lars, Katherine, Eleanora, 7, and Torsten Davidson, 4. We took our inspiration from the show: 'Is it cake?' on Netflix. On this show, the bakers create cakes that look like everyday objects and foods, and the judges must identify which is the cake out of a group of the real objects it was meant to impersonate. In our diorama the cakes all look like yellow and pink chick Peeps. The judges (blue peeps) incorrectly identified #1 as the cake, but it is actually a Peep as revealed by the host (purple)! The cake that looks like a Peep remains hidden in the group! This was a super fun project! Thanks!"
"Just wanted to submit a Peeps diorama – inspired by First Avenue," writes Ann Treacy of St. Paul. "I used to do dioramas with my kids when they were little. Last year, COVID-inspired I bought peeps and missed the deadline. Turns out – unopened Peeps can last a year! I noticed today that the deadline was 5 p.m. so I hustled to ArtScraps, invested $3.27 and the magic began. I tried to think of one cheerful thing – and First Ave was it. On the stars on the latest MN bands I have seen play. "I had visions of a bigger box and a world where I’d include audience members putting the tall people in back and room for dancers in front. But all we really need is the band. "I am in awe every year of the masterpieces that people turn in. That will never be me – but thanks for helping me take a break and meet at goal on a Friday afternoon."
"I work at a library and made an example diorama ('Winnie the Peep') to show patrons our new contest," writes Elise Johnson. "I had so much fun that I needed to make 'Schitt’s Peep' after my favorite Netflix show, 'Schitt’s Creek.'"
"The Fast and The Peepeous" by Roland Celichowski, 11.
"I made this in honor of my husband," writes Ardis Haslach of Shoreview. "He loves to watch car races on TV, he watches each time they are on. He has a favorite driver and wishes he wins. He loves watching them and loved the race track I made.z'
When it comes to marshmallows, the colors trending this Easter are blue and yellow.
At least, that’s true for the marshmallows in the 2022 Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama Contest.
Our contest, which dates back to 2004, has always been a way for the public to process the news, and that includes the Russian invasion of Ukraine: We had several entries featuring the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, including the first-place submission by Julianne Prekaski of Seattle, Wash., that shaped a heart out of blue and yellow chicks against the outline of Ukraine’s silhouette.
In another prize-winning entry by Jill Schaefer of Minnetonka, Peeps stand outside Kramarczuk’s, a Northeast Minneapolis favorite specializing in the foods of Eastern Europe, holding their $3 blue-and-yellow “Stand With Ukraine” cookies. There was also a peace symbol of blue-and-yellow Peeps, a Peep holding a “No war!” sign and a Peep version of “The Scream.”
Beyond the gravity of war, this year’s entries offer interpretations of other headlines from the last year, including St. Paul gymnast Suni Lee — “Suni Peep” — winning the gold at the Olympics. The sport of gymnastics was also trending with the kids, including an entry by the Thames sisters that highlighted a gymnastics meet and tied for first place in the “Little Peeple” category for ages 12 and under.
As for the pandemic, now more than two years long, we sure could relate to Cynthia Kleist’s diorama, “A Peep for All Seasons,” in which the worlds of the bunnies — much like our own worlds — shrunk to fit inside the diorama-like box of home, where the changing seasons provide some variety: “Each season,” Kleist writes, “brought us its own colors, challenges and entertainment.”
We received 142 entries this year, and, as always, they included entertainment that captured our imaginations, especially “Encanto” — we received several dioramas related to the animated Disney musical that tells the story of a family from Colombia.
These entries arrived into our inbox from across the country, from L.A. to D.C. and, of course, St. Paul. To all of you Peeps who heated up glue guns and bought Peeps to craft into dioramas for our contest, we thank you. Although we can only give out a few awards (with gift cards), we will put lots of the 2022 entries into a slideshow, which you can find at TwinCities.com. There, you will find religious themes for Easter, a Peeps drag brunch, odes to local favorites and passion projects like a pet rescue. And a “Charlie Brown” cake from the Schomburg family, who make our contest a family craft activity every year.
Happy Easter, Peeps, and now let us introduce you to the winners, chosen by a staff vote:
First place: “Peeps 2022: Inspired by the People of Ukraine” by Julianne Prekaski of Seattle, Wash.
It was years ago that Prekaski, a design manager, and her kids entered a similar diorama contest through their hometown paper, the Seattle Times. Their muse: “Hannah Montana.” It was a big year for the television series and its star, Miley Cyrus, who was on tour and making a stop in Seattle.
“We didn’t win, but I think we made the top 20,” said Prekaski of that timely entry
It was like a sugar rush for Mom, who has been making dioramas ever since — even if she sometimes misses the contest deadlines and only shares her creations with friends and family.
The Seattle paper doesn’t offer its contest anymore, so Prekaski has entered our contest a couple of times. In 2017, her Peeps were walking the Women’s March. This year, her theme was clear.
“I try to make it based on what is going on, but not too negative,” she says. “As I said in my entry, I really am inspired by the people of Ukraine.”
Second place: “Suni Peep” by the O’Quinn family of Shoreview (Jennifer O’Quinn, Aubrey O’Quinn and Brooke O’Quinn):
“Hello live from Tokyo we bring you the Olympic World Cheepion Suni Lee, who earned gold for her All-Around Gymnastic Performance,” the O’Quinn family wrote in their entry. “See her compete on all four events, the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Hear the crowd cheer for our local hometown hero. Stay tuned for the awards ceremony and see the presentation of the medals.
“We were so excited to watch the summer Olympics even if they were a year late. On July 29, 2021, we were riveted by Sunisa Lee’s performance in all four gymnastic events, but her winning individual gold for the All-Around was amazing. Watching her perform was an exciting time at our house, lifting all of our spirits and making us beam with Minnesota pride.
“This was a fun concept to create, and it was pretty straightforward. We worked on it together over the last few weeks. It was a bit difficult to create the uneven bars and vault and we experimented with Suni’s position on the floor exercise. We learned that it is hard to pull a needle to string fish line through a dried-out Peep and it is much easier to do with a fresh one.”
Third place (tie): “Flavor of the Day: Peeps” (Cup and Cone) by Ruby Brown, 13, and her dad, Brian Brown, of White Bear Lake, and “Peeps Supporting Ukraine at a Local Twin Cities Favorite” (of Kramarczuk’s) by Jill Schaefer of Minnetonka.
If you live next to an ice cream store, what do you do? Well, you probably eat a lot of ice cream. What if you live next to an iconic ice cream store like the Cup and Cone in White Bear Lake?
If you’re the Brown family, you use it as inspiration in a diorama contest.
“They used balsa wood, recycled cardboard and hot glue, for the majority of the construction,” said Heather McInerney Brown in an email to the Pioneer Press about the diorama team (her husband, Brian Brown, and their daughter, 13-year-old Ruby Brown). “We live behind Cup and Cone so we took photos and Brian put his math skills to good use to build to scale. He taught Ruby about geometry and ratios, all while having fun.”
As for the other third-place winner, Jill Schaefer has plenty of Peeps pride: She won first place in our contest back in 2016 with “Peepy Stardust,” her tribute to the late David Bowie and his stage persona, Ziggy Stardust. Her other award winners have focused on art, Twinkies and politics.
She’s a graphic designer who designs Peeps just for fun.
“This is my spring tradition that I love doing,” she says. “After sitting at a computer all day, it’s fun to do a little kids’ art project.”
This year, she says, it was also a chance to highlight another sweet tradition.
“I wanted to pay homage to Kramarczuk’s and their efforts to help the Ukrainian people with their cookie fundraiser,” she says.
To create the diorama, she printed a photo as the backdrop, researched the treats that Kramarczuk’s sells at Easter and shaped the desserts out of paper.
Little Peeple, the youth category for ages 12 and under: “A Peep Meet’ by the Thames sisters tied with “Hanging with My Peeps in the City” by Grace Bolan and Joseph Doll.
“Three gymnast sisters, Annaliese (12), Avonleigh (7), and Addelynne (3) together created “A Peep Meet” to highlight their favorite sport!” writes their mom. “They enjoyed designing Peep leotards, positioning the Peeps to execute skills of all levels and showing the various flags of countries where the sport is enjoyed around the world!”
As for the downtown diorama, created by pals Grace and Joseph, could it be that the judges were influenced by a downtown diorama that included the Pioneer Press?
Tim Bolan, Grace’s dad, explained the genesis of the diorama: “Joseph came up with the idea of the cityscape and Grace built the city from a design Joseph drew. He thought of it from a scene in ‘Ghostbusters’ where the giant Marshmallow Man comes — however, Grace forgot to add the giant Peep because she was so excited to take the pictures.”
That’s OK, Grace. We extended the deadline and so here is a new photo with the giant Peep included:
Rounding out the 2022 entries, here are the honorable mentions:
“Peeps Peanuts” by the Schomburg family in celebration of the 100th birthday of Charles Schulz: “Charles Schulz, claimed as a St. Paul boy, sold his first cartoons to the Pioneer Press in 1947. This year is the 100th anniversary of his birth and the Peanuts Gang is celebrating the occasion and thanking Mr. Schulz for creating them with a giant birthday cake! Some of his characters look a bit like Peeps because of the bunny ears, but Charlie Brown was created from an Easter egg Peep, so the shape was almost right! Most of the Peeps used were the large-sized bunnies. Thank you, Charles Schulz, for decades and decades of entertainment and wisdom. We had great fun recreating the Peanuts gang out of sticky marshmallow Peeps and some old Peeps we had that were not sticky at all!!”
“Peeonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper'” by Gus Hirschboeck and McKaylie Morter, created with acrylic (and marshmallow) on foam board.
“Egg-canto” by Eliza Milashius, 9, and Anna Milashius, 5: “Inspired by Isabela’s room from the movie, ‘Encanto.'”
“Who is the Peepetrator??” by Lachelle Semanko and Gena Johnson: Lachelle Semanko and Gena Johnson are friends, co-workers and miniature enthusiasts. “We love all things ‘true crime,’ especially famous Minnesota crimes, like the theft of Dorothy’s ruby slippers!” Johnson wrote in their entry. “In this diorama, we imagine ourselves as Peep detectives out to solve this crime. We ask… ‘Who Is the Peepetrator?'”
“A Peep For All Seasons” by Cynthia Kleist: “I was inspired by the time I spent the last two years, much closer to home, and with a lot of it in my own front yard. Each season brought its own colors, challenges and entertainment. The challenge, and fun, to making my diorama this year was keeping some things exactly the same like the size of the house, trees, and pond, while changing the size of the plants, the color of the leaves, and the activities, clothes and toys of my peeples!”
“The Grady Peeps Twins from the film ‘The Shining'” by Vincent Caro and Ian Caro: “My son Ian and I are submitting our diorama,” wrote Vincent Caro. “We call it, ‘The Grady Peeps Twins from the film ‘The Shining.’ The Peeps all together in the box looked like twins, and that’s what gave us the idea.
“Peeps Confirmation at the St. Paul Cathedral” by Jan Beatty, with Claire and Joe: “My granddaughter Claire is being confirmed this spring and I, her grandmother, am her sponsor. I got a brainstorm one sleepless night of doing a Peep diorama and submitting a picture of it to the Pioneer Press: Why not do a ‘Peeps Confirmation at the St. Paul Cathedral’? We met at at lunch, and my son Joe did the hardest part by gluing the masterpiece together and cutting holes in plastic Easter eggs for the girls dresses. The boys were easier to create with small paper towel rolls. Claire had fun designing them and we all totally enjoyed our time together building this diorama.”
Claire adds: “It was so fun to create this awesome diorama with my family. I loved decorating the dresses! The depicted picture relates to me because I’m getting confirmed this year.”
“Schitt’s Peep (‘Just Fold in the Cheese’)” by Lori Anderson: “Since David couldn’t ‘just fold in the cheese…’ according to Moira Rose on ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ we needed ‘Schitt’s Peeps’ to give it a try — and no, she “Cannot show you everything’!”
Hint: “You just fold it in, Peeple!”
“Vikings vs. Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium” by Dennis O’Neill, 9, and Raymund O’Neill, 6, of Victoria, Minn. “They had so much creating this!” writes Ann O’Neill. “Thank you.” Thank you, kids.
“Waking Up on Easter” by Evey and Jonah DeJonge, ages 10: “Our names are Evey and Jonah DeJonge. We are 10 years old. This diorama is based off of us waking up on Easter. For the eggs inside the baskets we used Peeps jelly beans. Jonah came up with the idea. We hope you like our diorama.”
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