No matter how you feel about molded gelatin - some relish it, other despise it - Utah is the undisputed hive of Jell-O activity.
Plenty of locals will include this colorful treat on Thanksgiving tables, along with turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.
Even though we eat a lot of the jiggly stuff - filled with pineapples, carrots and even pretzels - we don' take Jell-O too seriously. And that's why The Salt Lake Tribune annually chooses to embrace this quirky Utah tradition with poems.
This year we received more than 350 entries in our fifth annual Jell-O haiku contest.
Here are the first, second and third place winners in our adults and student categories. We've also listed a few honorable mentions and posted a guest haiku from Sister Dottie S. Dixon, the alter image of actor Charles Lynn Frost, the honorary Queen Bee of Utah's Jell-O hive.
ADULT
1st place
I sent her a text
Jell-O is better than sex
Now she is my ex!
- Joseph Buck
—-
2nd place
An ode to poet William Carlos Williams
So much depends on
The red mix glazed wet standing
Beside the white cream
- Laura Hunter
—-
3rd place
When God makes rainbows
He swirls raindrops with Jell-O
And flings them to Earth.
- Barbara Sweat
—-
7-12 GRADE
1st place
Oh, shiny Jell-O
Will you come and dance with me?
Next to the blue sea.
- Gabe Hess
—-
2nd place
Since I'm so picky,
Grandma made fifteen Jell-Os
On Thanksgiving day.
- Sailor Mylroie
—-
3rd place
Staring at Jell-O
Is not a helpful pastime
When you won't eat it.
- Hannah Thalmann
—-
K-6 GRADE
1st place
Mommy made me eat
Jell-O salad as a "treat?"
I'd rather eat feet.
- Jack AbuHaidar
—-
2nd place
Jell-O blows my mind
But it is sassy to me
Why did it get made?
- Adam Koblanski
—-
3rd place
Bellys tremendous
The flavor is stupendous
I need one more bite
-Asia Huynh
—-
HONORABLE MENTIONS
ADULT
Wiggly and jiggly
Stop looking at my belly
I speak of Jell-O
- Shad Engkilterra
—-
Your ability
To bounce back from the worst times
Makes me so jealous
- Brandon Bloom
—-
I get no respect.
I shimmer. I shake. What gives?
Secretly, I'm loved.
- Steve Harris
—-
7-12 GRADE
Off to Grandma's house,
Ready to consume color,
The taste of Jell-O
- Parker Dellinger
—-
Sad excuse for food
Killing my stomach, my mood
Throw that away, dude!
- Adam Hale
—-
K-6 GRADE
Leftover Jell-O
Makes a soft, squishly pillow
And can make sweet dreams.
- West Mylroie —
Celebrity Haiku
Dot made for Bro Bean
Lime Jell-O and tuna green
Ah TUMS, Fall passes
—Sister Dottie S. Dixon —
Finding Sister Dottie
Follow the comedy of Sister Dixon S. Dixon, aka Charles Lynn Frost, a Mormon mom from Spanish Fork, who presses on in a church that condemns her gay son
What • Sister Dottie's Hilarious Holiday Hullabaloo
When • Saturday, Dec. 10, 8 p.m.,
Where • Weber State University's Shepherd Union Ballroom, Ogden
Tickets • $25, $10 for students. Available at the Dee Events Center Ticket Office or the Union Building Information Desk. Also available online at WeberStateTickets.com or by calling 1-800-WSU-TIKS.
Info • This is a fundraiser for OUTreach Resource Center and the WSU's Center for Diversity and Unity. A donor reception will be held at 6 p.m. at the Kimball Visual Arts Center, $100 individual, or $150 per couple.
What • "Dottie — The Sister Lives On!"
When • Feb. 15-March 4, 2012
Where • Salt Lake Acting Co., 168 W. 500 North, Salt Lake City
Details • saltlakeactingcompany.org or 801-363-7422
