Hilltown Families 
Pie Contest at Hancock Shaker Village
Youth Invited to Participate in Hancock Shaker Village’s Annual Pie Contest
Deliver to Village on Sept 28th.
Hancock Shaker Village’s 15th annual Country Fair on Saturday and Sunday, Sept 29th-30th from 10am-5pm promises fun for the whole family with Shaker-inspired games in the Kids Tent, a farmers’ market with samples of heirloom vegetables to taste, vendors and demonstrations of handmade crafts, wagon and pony rides, antique engines and tractors, a pie contest, and a juried quilt exhibition.
Hancock Shaker Village’s annual Country Fair takes place on September 29th and 30th! The festival celebrates the fall harvest and all of the many food-related activities and traditions that the season brings. Especially exciting is the festival’s annual pie contest, which features an amateur division for young baker-extraordinaires! Entries in the contest must be baked at home from scratch, and delivered to the village between 3-5pm on Friday, September 28th. Bakers may use the crust recipe of their choice, and can choose their own filling or use one of the provided recipes from The Best of Shaker Cooking
Looking for pie baking books to inspire you or the youth baker in your home? Here are some suggestions you might find at your local library:
- The Shaker Cookbook: Recipes and Lore From the Valley of God’s Pleasure
- Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie
- A Year of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies
- The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy
- Vegan Pie in the Sky: 75 Out-of-This-World Recipes for Pies, Tarts, Cobblers, and More
- Fresh Fruit Pies, Tarts, and Galettes: Every Recipe has a Gluten Free Alternative
- Shaker Your Plate: Of Shaker Cooks and Cooking
- The Best of Shaker Cooking
[Photo credit: (ccl) Julie Falk]
Whether you have just discovered a wonderful new pie recipe or have a traditional family favorite, another pie contest to consider entering is the 9th Annual Williamstown Pie Contest on Saturday, October 27th. Sponsored by the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation (WRLF), the Pie Contest is held at the WRLF Sheep Hill headquarters in Williamstown. Pie tasting for the public will happen at 7 pm. After 8 pm, if the weather allows, pie eaters can walk off their pie in the moonlit meadows. A panel of distinguished pie aficionados will judge the pies in three categories: Adult Home-Bakers, Youth Bakers (16 and under), and Professional Bakers. Each entrant bakes two pies from the chosen recipe: one for the panel of judges and one for public sampling and a shot at the People’s Choice Award. Both sweet and savory pies are welcomed. Bakers are encouraged to use ingredients from local farms and markets; judges award extra points for local ingredients! Entry forms accompanying the two pies must be delivered to Sheep Hill on October 27th between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. Judging begins promptly at 6:00 pm. The judging panel will award first and second prizes in each of the three categories. At 7:00 pm the public is invited to sample the pies and vote for the “People’s Choice” pie. All prizes will be announced soon after 8:00.
Entry forms are available at Sheep Hill, the Milne Public Library, and Wild Oats Market. Forms are also downloadable from the WRLF website at http://www.wrlf.org. For an emailed form, contact lre@wrlf.org.
For more information about the pie contest or general information about WRLF, call 413-458-2494, or go to http://www.wrlf.org.