Lenoir, NC – The new Western NC Sculpture Center at the Patterson School Foundation in Happy Valley will hold a PIE COMPETITION in honor of Pi Day on Saturday, March 14th. For an application fee of $10, bakers will have a chance to win a First Prize Blue Ribbon and an Artisan Forged Pie Stand, or a Second Prize Artisan Forged Pie Knife.

Pi Day at the Sculpture Center will feature the second Iron Pour since the Grand Opening & Iron Pour on November 3, and will also feature live blacksmithing, glass flame working and a ceramics raku firing.

There will be live music and food trucks, as well as a silent auction and artist tile molds for participants to purchase for $25 and create their own design for a cast iron tile to be poured at the event.

Any dessert pie is welcome at the Pie Competition. Bakers must deliver their pie(s) to the Pie Tent at the Sculpture Center on March 14th between noon and 1:30pm at which time the pie(s) will be given an entry number, maintaining confidentiality of the baker. Bakers will complete a registration form and must submit a copy of the recipe on 3 x 5 card or 8 x 11 paper, with a list of ingredients , contestant name and phone number. Judging will begin at 2:30 and conclude at 3:30 pm.

The Competition is open to bakers of all ages and must be made from scratch and baked in a 9” to 10” pie plate / pan. Each pie must include a cover and serving utensil. No pre-made or store-bought crusts.

All ingredients must be edible. Each pie must be entered in the name of the baker.

Pies will be judged on overall appearance, flavor, creativity and presentation. Crusts will be judged on color, texture, doneness and flavor; and fillings judged on consistency, doneness, moistness and flavor. The decisions of the judge are final, and winners will be announced at 3:30pm on the main stage.

All pies become the property of the Sculpture Center, but pans and utensils will be available for pickup after the Competition.

Judge is Sherri Herland of Sugar Mountain, NC who studied European Pastries at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, and specialized in European pasties and desserts. She has had an extensive culinary career creating desserts from Boston to NC for twenty years, and worked as Pastry Chef at Eseola Lodge in Linville, NC for many years. For more details, go to www.wncsculpture.org/piecompetition.

This event at the Western NC Sculpture Center is in conjunction with efforts to raise money to replace the gymnasium roof in which the center is located, and to begin to offer a more robust community workshop program with visiting artists, gallery space and other events. Admission to the event is free. The Sculpture Center & Park are located ten miles north of Lenoir on Highway 268 on the campus of the former Patterson School.