A 7-foot, 300-pound bread sculpture of the internet's favorite sharp-toothed monster is currently grinning at passersby outside a Benicia bakery, and it's drawing lines of excited kids eager to snap selfies with the towering creature.
One House Bakery at 918 First Street unveiled "LeVanVan"—a massive interpretation of the wildly popular Labubu character—early Thursday morning as their entry in Benicia's Annual Scarecrow Contest. The sculpture, crafted entirely from bread by mother-daughter duo Catherine and Hannalee Pervan, represents weeks of meticulous late-night work that concluded Wednesday evening, according to SFGate.
"Every time I look at the Labubu character, I laugh. It's the funniest-looking creature ever," Hannalee told SFGate. The name "LeVanVan" is a clever play on "levain," the ingredient used in most of the bread pieces that compose the sculpture's body.
Riding the Labubu Wave
The timing couldn't be better. NPR reports that Labubu figures have become a global sensation in 2025, with the collectible plush toys sparking long lines outside stores and selling out within minutes online. Created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and produced by Chinese toy company Pop Mart, Fox Business notes that Labubu-related products generated $418 million in global sales during the first half of 2025 alone.
The character gained mainstream attention after K-pop star Lisa from BLACKPINK was spotted with one on her bag in 2024, according to Wikipedia. Since then, celebrities including Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and David Beckham have been photographed with the quirky monsters, helping fuel what Axios describes as the toy craze of 2025—drawing comparisons to Cabbage Patch Kids and Beanie Babies.
The Technical Challenge
Creating LeVanVan required serious baking expertise. The project began with a wooden frame reinforced with chicken wire and tinfoil before the Pervans moved to the kitchen to shape the body using "dead dough"—a bread dough made without yeast, SFGate reports. The absence of yeast results in higher sugar concentration, ideal for shaping baked structures because it hardens and dries faster.
The creature's distinctive fur presented its own challenge. According to SFGate, the Pervans created it using sourdough bread mixed with high concentrations of yeast, baking powder, and baking soda—an amalgam that changes the dough's pH to develop the perfect brown color for LeVanVan's fur. After baking, they cut separate pieces of bread to recreate the right texture, gluing each piece individually.
Hannalee took the lead on molding the creature's face, which required making numerous thin sheets of dough that were draped over the base sculpture before baking, as reported by ABC7 News.
A Canadian Family's Journey
The Pervans' story adds depth to their annual bread sculpture tradition. The family moved to the Bay Area from north of Toronto following tragedy—Catherine's son died 11 years ago from anaphylactic shock after a wasp bite, according to KTVU. Catherine and her husband Peter were "lost souls," and Hannalee, who earned a pastry diploma from Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa and worked on the bread team at Thomas Keller's French Laundry, suggested they move to the United States and open a bakery together.
Edible East Bay reports that Hannalee's marriage to CBS sports reporter Colin Ward-Henninger, who covers the Warriors, helped facilitate the move. The family opened One House Bakery in 2018 after completely renovating an old movie theater, using construction skills honed over 30 years of running a construction company in Ontario.
A Viral Tradition
This marks the eighth year the mother-daughter team has created bread sculptures for Benicia's scarecrow contest. Previous creations include a 7-foot Groot from "Guardians of the Galaxy" dubbed "Guardians of the Gorgonzola," a "Game of Scones" display, and their first sculpture—a skeleton made from baguettes, KTVU notes.
Their 2022 creation—a 6-foot-tall, 400-pound depiction of Han Solo frozen in carbonite, cleverly named "Pan Solo"—went viral and caught the attention of Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who shared an image on X with the caption "Mmmm …. Pan Solo!" according to SFGate.
Catherine told KTVU that children have been lining up outside the bakery to take selfies with LeVanVan, with some asking, "Is it edible? Can I eat it?" While technically edible, she notes it wouldn't taste very good—these sculptures are made to last through Halloween, not to be consumed.
More Than Competition
The Pervans aren't particularly concerned about winning the scarecrow contest. For them, the real prize is the time spent working together on something creative. "At work she's my boss and at home I'm the mom," Catherine told SFGate with a laugh. "But this is one of the things we get to do, and just kind of hang out and just be friends. We always look forward to that aspect of it every year."
The project consumed "a couple hundred" hours of work, according to KTVU. The family begins planning their annual sculpture in mid-summer, Catherine explained, wanting to stay current with the latest trends.
LeVanVan will remain on display outside the bakery through Halloween. Whether or not the sculpture wins the Benicia contest, it's already succeeded in bringing joy to the community—and giving the Pervans another cherished memory of creating something extraordinary together.
