I (Love) Pie.

The most deplorable thing happened to me last week:

I forgot Pi Day.

How could such a thing happen!? Pi Day is like Christmas, filled with delicious little packages of joy and a happy Beth with a tummy not unlike a bowl full of jelly.

I learn from my mistakes. I more than made up for the mishap as I indulged like a gal's never indulged before, at Claremont's Saturday celebration of the fourth annual Pie Festival. Glory beeeeeee!

The Pie Festival is the brainchild of Annika Corbin, owner of the Village's very own pie shop, I Like Pie. I had the priviledge of meeting Annika back in 2012 when her sweet shoppe had not yet opened its doors. Now the place is swarming with business, and the reason is simple: the people are genuine and the pie is to die for.

Annika's love for pie is secondhand, inherited from her grandmother - who we all have to thank for inspiring the scrumptious jelly jar pies we now consume on the regular. Piemaking is no easy task; it takes time and a whole lot of patience. For Annika, it's a labor of love, and a form of relaxation.

“When I have my hands in the dough, I feel like I have control over everything in front of me,” she told me during our first meeting. “It’s the one thing that calms me.”

Pulling together an entire pie festival is anything, but relaxing. However, it was always a part of the Annika's grand vision for her pie business. Three years after she successfully pulled off the inaugural pie fest at the Claremont Depot, the festival is bigger and better than ever before. A vintage car show, food trucks, and a recipe card hunt at businesses across downtown are just a few of the features.

This year the festival's headquarters moved from the Depot to Village West, an excellent decision in my opinion because that is where the pie shop resides (it makes for easy snacks in between pie demos).

[Annika talks pie technique]

Speaking of which, the pie demos were phenomenal. I parked myself at the Public Plaza all day to take part in the pie crust technique, apple pie and cheese pairing, ice cream pie demo, and wine and pie tastings. I seriously didn't eat anything except for sugar until dinner time (and unashamed. Are you surprised?)

[Bert & Rocky's Creamery dishes out its ice cream pie]

[... and how about a little dessert wine? Courtesy of Vom Foss]

The biggest highlight, however, took place at the start of my day. I thought there was nothing better than being a judge for the pie baking contest. Lo and behold, there is: being a baking contest volunteer.

It was the best volunteer position I have ever accepted. And I would be a liar if I told you I didn't try at least one bite (if not several more) of every entry in that contest, of which there was something like 34 pies. I was floating on a cloud in cream, custard, fruit pie heaven.

[Gooooooood morning!]

[Breakfast is served... ]

With my sugar cravings officially curbed, and my confidence at an all-time high thanks to Annika's encouragement during the pie crust demo, I think I might even have the courage to submit a pie to the contest next year. Time to start really rolling out the pie recipes. Do I have any takers for pie tasters?