Oh, why, hello, hello, welcome back to Sweetville, USA, the gooey center of Tootsie Pop County! I’m so glad you could come by once again to see our beautiful, snowy-sugared town. Come, take a walk with me and I’ll show you the sights.

In the center of town, you have City Hall, a gathering place for politicians and plebians alike. While the city council argues the placement of this year’s iced Gingerbread Christmas tree or whether the town should pave a caramel yellow brick road, you have the traffic violators paying their fines for parking in front of the candy corn cones or speeding down Peppermint Patty Lane.

Ah, and there is the Royal Order of the Mousse Lodge, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of Sweetville and keeping the town sugar-coated for years to come. The members are very involved in the community, whether it is cleaning the streets of sprinkles, working in a soup kitchen serving Boston Baked Beans or even passing out Altoids for those with a touch of halitosis. The Order is very selective though, not anyone can join. I hear you have to be able make a tasty s’more (and knowing Mike-n-Ike doesn’t hurt either).

This is Sweetville Heights, the newest addition to the city. Fast and furious building started in the beginning of the year, but like everywhere else, Sweetville was not immune to the economic downturn.

Our first foreclosure — how sad. The poor guy didn’t even have a Bit-o-Honey to fix up his Hershey pick-up. Although construction has slowed, the residents of Sweetville Heights are enjoying the amenities that it offers such as a Pop-Rock fireworks display and lazy afternoons by the Swedish Fishing hole.

The Sweetville Heights development also built this quaint church for it’s residents. Here is the church, there is the pretzel steeple, open the iced candied door and look at all the gingerbread people.

And we cannot touch on the economic crisis without visiting what many believe to be the root cause: The Bank of Sweetville. For years, basically any gingerbread man or woman could get loans to build larger and more elaborate houses — using the finest graham crackers and imported icing, of course — regardless of whether or not they could pay back the 100 Grand. What they didn’t realize was that unless their homes were properly lacquered, they would decrease in value exponentially. Of course, The Bank of Sweetville then bundled up these spoiled assets, slapped on a fraudulent Nutrition Facts label, and sold these empty calories to anyone who had the money. As you can see, the result of this skullduggery is the Occupy Sweetville movement. While these Gummi Bears are 99% corn syrup they are hopping mad about being misled. To show their displeasure, they have set up their Fruit Roll-up tents and are basically loitering in front of this tastefully decorated bank.

In addition to the economic woes, Sweetville was also the victim of a cotton candy cyclone. While most buildings escaped harm, some of the less sturdy structures were damaged. This was the worst natural disaster to a candy town since Timmy Thomas realized he was going to lose a game of Candy Land to his little sister and flipped the board in a fit of poor sportsmanship. In a show of support, the citizens came through with extra frosting and Twizzlers to patch the damaged roof of this home. If the marshmallow snowman in the front is any indication, this is going to be a very merry Christmas indeed!

There is the official town Christmas tree, I guess the council has decided to place it here, along Main Street. Many people come to help decorate, it’s tradition. You can’t go wrong with a red Twizzler garland, little candied ornaments and a Peep snowman. On Christmas Eve, families gather around with their hot chocolate, apple cider and other warm, delicious concoctions, sing Christmas carols and frolic beneath the frosting of its branches.

Over yonder is the Mars Bars Inn, a well-known dining establishment, a staple in this town since 1911. If you are looking for comfort food, a cozy atmosphere and good conversations, this is where you will find it. The specialty here is the Skittles Steak, served with a heaping mound of creamy mashed potatoes and perfectly grilled asparagus. If you have room for dessert, you must order the Milky Way Delight. I would tell you what it is, but then it would ruin the experience. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Although there have been some some misfortunes this year, the community hasn’t let it melt their spirits, hence the folks are always welcoming and Sweetville is just simply irresistible. That is all the time that we have today. I hope you enjoyed your visit and please, swing on by anytime. And if you have any friends who would like a tour, you can see the rest of the town here, here, and here.

Well, hello boys and girls, you just couldn’t resist the deliciousness of Sweetville, USA? Well, come on in, we have gobs more to show you!

As you trek outside of town, skipping down Gingerbread Lane, you come up Gummy Bear Lake. Yes, the lake is named after the founders and it is the destination for the residents of Sweetville. In the summer, you can usually find the lake teeming with Life-Saver rafts and Kit-Kat skiing. In the winter, candy-cane hockey and cinnamon stick skating are the prime entertainment choices.

Strolling a bit further, you come upon Lemon Drop Farm, home to the only chocolate milk cow in the tri-state area. Meet Milk Dud. Raised from just a little calf, she is the sweetest animal around. She loves to frolic with the children when they come by to visit. Her favorite things to eat? Candy, of course. That’s the secret to the best-tasting milk in town, coconut haystacks and root-beer floats. Only the best for Milk Dud.

Oh, look. There’s the Zen Cen, a serene escape from hustle and bustle of town. Here you can relax and meditate upon marshmallow pillows, discuss the meaning of this candied life on Fig-Newton couches, or even stroll through the Gum-Drop gardens. Everyone needs time to de-coat and this is the place to go.

Let’s go visit some of the country folk. Meet Jen, the postmaster of Sweetville. Whenever she’s not at the post office, wrangling the ninja mailmen, you can usually find her at home, with her feet up by her peppermint fire, either reading Candy: The Sweet History or watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Other times, you may find Jen hanging out with her neighbor, Amanda, the owner of Amanda’s Sweetville Tavern. Together, they hear all, see all, know all. I mean, really, the things you find out from residents when they are blitzed on the Flaming Reindeer. Jen and Amanda also are the town party planners, they do throw the best parties. Everyone remembers the Sprinkle Bash 2009, people were picking sprinkles out of their hair for months. It was sprink-taculous! Oh, and don’t mind the bleeding snowman in the front yard, the ninja mailman felt a bit threatened.

A little further down the beaten candy rock path, you stumble upon Monika’s home away from home. As you know, she already has a residence in town but sometimes, she needs to get away from the hustle and bustle her sacchariferous life and the countryside is where she comes to tranquilize.

That’s it, another swift glimpse at the most charming city in the USA. Please come back again!

Here are the rest of the shots from around town.

Welcome to Sweetville, USA. Come, I’ll show you around this candied goodness and hopefully you decide to stay a while. It’ll be a real treat!

Strolling down Main Street, we first come upon Amanda’s Sweetville Tavern, the local hangout for the residents. Not only does the Tavern serve such wonderful food, there are some drink specials that are known around the tri-state area, including the Candy Cane Drop Shot, the Wintry Mix and the Flaming Reindeer. It’s THE place that people go to get frosted.

A little further down the street, we have the Sweetville Post Office. Now, this is no ordinary post office with ordinary postal workers. When you drop your letter off at the mailbox, you are actually handing it to a red ninja (they are excellent in the art of disguise). Then your mail will be be delivered, swiftly and stealthily, faster than you can say, “candied throwing star.”

Of course, in the center of town, you will find the Sweetville First Church of Icing, the glue that keeps Sweetville together. The exquisite stained glass dates back to the Jolly Rancher period, a time of turmoil and toothaches. The nativity scene was generously donated by Mr. and Mrs. Gummy Bear, who’s family founded Sweetville. It is a place of worship and town functions, from meetings to cupcake parties.

Sitting on the outskirts of town is the Sweetville Railyard, home to the Sour Rainbow Road Express. This train is the only way in and out of Sweetville and is always punctual, nothing will stop it from getting to the station on time, even cows on its peppermint tracks. Off to the side, some homeless Gummies are living in a graham cracker box, just waiting until the next shipment of marshmallows to come in. Luckily, they are on the outside of town and no one sees them so they don’t tarnish the sugar-coated shininess of Sweetville.

Now, let’s take a walk and meet some of the residents so you can get the flavor of the town.

Say hello to Monika and her quaint cottage. When she first moved into town, she had a bit of trouble constructing her home. The contractor’s icing failed when her home crumbled into pieces. Fortunately, she hired another contractor who analyzed her dire situation and time constraints and suggested a new building material that was slowly being introduced in the gingerbread-house building: hot glue. Apparently, this concoction worked and now you can often see her sitting outside her door, offering anyone a cup of hot chocolate or fresh baked cookies.

Next door, you have Beth’s charming home. As you can see, she is a lover of chocolate-covered mushrooms. Now, in small quantities, they are very healthy for you but in high doses, they are highly addictive. When consumed in large quantities, one can experience a sugar rush which causes extreme hyperness, the jitters and running around outside naked. Very powerful stuff. Her home is always such a joy when lit up in lights. Clark Griswold is her uncle and every year he comes to help her put them up for the holiday season.

Finally, we have the resident artist, Kate, who’s retreat is up on Big Rock Candy Mountain. The candied rocks decorating the outside of her home were found down by Chocolate Syrup River, a popular destination in the summer. She often opens her home to anyone who is interested in finding a place to work on their art. It is peaceful up there, especially in the winter when it often snows coconut flakes to the point where you can’t even eat enough of it to leave your house.

There you have it, a little tour of our saccharine town. If your sweet tooth can handle it, we would love to have you!

For the rest of the pictures, click here.

They know that when you stand up and wave, you will throw them food.