Over 120 people attended our first ever Pie in July event held last Saturday at our new location: the Fructova Heritage Site.

The concept of Pie and July was conceived last summer by our summer students, Allie and Stepan. The idea began when the students were trying to think of a way to utilize the traditional Doukhobor oven located on site at the museum. When the students learned that the our new location, “Fructova”, meant “of the fruit” in Russian, they quickly combined the idea of fruit, baking, and famous Doukhobor hospitality into Pie in July!

The idea was brought to life this year by our staff and many dedicated volunteers. Although the traditional oven was not in operation, visitors still enjoyed a variety of fruit pies, which were on sale as a part of a museum fundraiser.  There were many activities for Kids including the “Find the Pie” challenge, face painting, apple bobbing, and the Credit Union’s Success by 6 fish pond.

Guests were also treated to live entertainment by Brown Bag Theatre and musical guests, Phase 4. Rivers’ Edge Theatre gave lessons on theatre swordplay, which entertained participants and spectators alike. However, some of the best entertainment came from the watermelon and pie eating contest sponsored by Overwaitea Foods. Six participants ages 4 -23 had two minutes to eat as much watermelon as they could in order to qualify for the pie eating contest. All the participants did so well that everyone moved on to the pie round. In the end, Will Kaufman was the first place pie-guzzler receiving a gift basket donated by the Grand Forks Credit Union. Tate Kaufman and Thomas Hecht followed close behind receiving second and third place respectively.

Unlike the pie-eating contestants, judges of the official Pie in July baking contest got to savour their slices as they carefully judged the 12 entries based on qualities such as appearance, texture, creativity, and taste. The four judges, who included Grand Forks City Council Members and one of our staff, ultimately declared Tom Bader’s apple-cinnamon pie the winner. Mary Makortoff took second place and Shelly Grandy third. These three finalists each received a museum membership and their very own lawn chair in recognition of their baking expertise. 

We had such fun that we hope to make Pie in July an annual affair. We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to all of the donors and volunteers that made the event a scrumptious success! Donors included:

Grand Forks Credit Union

Overwaitea Foods

All Hit KBS

Pharmasave Grand Forks

Thistle Pot Gifts

Rilkoff's Store