Pizza, soda and competition were the puzzle pieces to a night of fun at Clarke Elementary School on Thursday, December 11.

Twelve teams competed in a contest to see who could complete a holiday themed 500-piece puzzle the quickest. The event was part of a series of holiday events put on by the Recreation Department throughout the month. The department held its first puzzle night in November, drawing a sell out crowd.

“It’s just good fun,” Recreation Department Director Charlotte Daher de Garcia said.

Daher de Garcia said that “puzzling” has been growing in popularity in the area.

“Everyone can do it,” she said. “There’s not much of a learning curve.”

The atmosphere became more intense as soon as Daher de Garcia said “Go!” The teams raced to put the 500 pieces together, and after an hour and 20 minutes after the contest began, there was a winner.

Kayla Dorst, Chris Dorst, Melanie Carr and Ryann Murphy finished their puzzle before the rest and took home a gingerbread house kit as a reward.

Teams vary in experience levels and attack the puzzles with different strategies. For the winning group, they said their strategy was to split up roles and sort the pieces by color and shape.

Daher de Garcia said there are plans to continue the puzzle contests, which have been a huge hit, on a monthly basis. She added that she’s been pleasantly surprised by the turnouts.

“Both contests have sold out and had a waitlist,” said Daher de Garcia. “We’ll probably add a couple more seats to the next one.”

There are numerous other Recreation Department events coming up for the holidays:

• Holiday cookie class – Thursday, December 18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Cookies and hot cocoa workshop – Saturday, December 20, 9 to 10 a.m.
• Winter crafts – Saturday, December 20, 9 to 11 a.m.