Grab your forks! The community of Cherokee Village is hosting Arkansas’s statewide Pie Festival Saturday, April 16 from 10 AM – 4 PM.
Two years ago, the Arkansas Pie Festival committee made the difficult decision to cancel due to the rising threat of the Covid-19 pandemic for the safety of our friends and neighbors. We’re excited that the outdoor festival will return to the Cherokee Village Town Center on April 16, 2022.
Why pie? Pie is one of the most beloved Southern foods. It is connected to some of our most nostalgic memories of home, family, holidays, and those special moments around the kitchen table. Simply put – who doesn’t love pie?
“Let’s face it…we need some pie now more than ever,” said festival co-chair and Cherokee Village Community Developer Jonathan Rhodes. “After two years of fighting COVID and missing out on many of our favorite traditions, we are so excited to bring the Arkansas Pie Festival back. We look forward to welcoming Pie Lovers to Cherokee Village.”
The Arkansas Pie Festival, sponsored by Emerson, will savor this much-loved food by hosting a competition between professional pie makers from around the state. Judges and attendees will be able to sample pies of all varieties before crowning a champion baker. Pies from amateur and student bakers will also be on display and auctioned off for charity.
In addition to pie tasting, festival goers will enjoy live music entertainment, food trucks, pie eating contests, shopping at the Arkansas Pie Pop-up Shop and the opportunity to meet Miss Arkansas 2021 Whitney Williams. The festival also includes a Pie Day 5K race for the first time.
Kat Robinson, Arkansas travel writing and leading authority on pie, serves as Festival Co-Chair. Kat has written the book on Arkansas Pie, A Delicious Slice of the Natural State, and recently released a second edition, Another Slice of Arkansas Pie. In 2018, Arkansas PBS premiered the documentary “Make Room For Pie: A Delicious Slice of the Natural State” telling Kat’s story of crisscrossing the state in search of Arkansas’s best pies. Kat will be available to sign her guide and other Arkansas food-related books. Rex Nelson, Senior Editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Steve Shuler, Senior Editor at Rock City Eats, Rob Gutteridge of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, George Jared of Talk Business and Politics, Jim “Doc” Myshka of the World Food Competition and Steak Competition Association, and author Tayla Tate Boerner will also serve as festival judges.
The festival will end with a silent pie auction and awards ceremony. Festival proceeds will support STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) programming and education through the community’s Spring River Innovation Hub.
Ticket sales, Pie Day 5K and pie competition registration are available online. Presale tickets for adults are $10.00, which includes the pie tasting. Children 5-12 are $5.00. Ticket sales will also be available at the gate for $12.00. Visit www.arkansaspiefestival.com to learn more about the festival including how to become a contestant.
For more information or to set up an interview, please contact Graycen Bigger at 870-335-7409 or graycen@neaintermodal.com.
Press Release
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