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Bucktown Apple Pie Contest Seeks Amateur Bakers, Pie Lovers and Volunteers

By Alisa Hauser | September 30, 2014 2:53pm
 A Bucktown Apple Pie contest volunteer shows off a soon-to-be-sampled pie at a previous year's competition.
A Bucktown Apple Pie contest volunteer shows off a soon-to-be-sampled pie at a previous year's competition.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

BUCKTOWN — The Bucktown Apple Pie Contest is headed to Holstein Park and seeking amateur bakers, pie lovers and volunteers to make the park's largest fundraiser a success.

Scheduled for 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, the 10th annual Bucktown Apple Pie Contest hopes to draw 2,000 people to the field house in Holstein Park at 2200 N. Oakley Ave. in Bucktown.

Organizers say it will be the largest contest of its kind devoted to apple pie, with 125 amateur and pro chefs prepared to duke it out for top honors.

Those interested in battling it out for "culinary supremacy and bragging rights" can register online here.

Though admission to the event is free, it will cost you to eat pie as well as compete.

The entry fee for contestants is $25, and they are required to bring two pies, which will be sliced up and sold, according to contest rules.

Proceeds from the event, the largest fundraiser of the year for Friends of Holstein Park — a nonprofit Chicago Park District advisory group — will benefit "park improvements, safety and community-building initiatives," said Michael Messaros, a contest spokesman.

This year's theme is "In Pie We Crust" and features a poster designed by local artist Tram Nguyen, who illustrates a popular food blog, Pen and Palate.

The Bucktown Apple Pie Contest started in 2004 with 50 bakers and raised $1,800. In the past two years, the contest made about $9,000 each year. This year the organizers have a goal of $15,000, Messaros said.

According to contest co-founder Martha Ring, the organizers "wanted to capture a small-town charm, something to honor the neighborhood and benefit Holstein Park."

The contests panel of judges include Tribune food writer Bill Daley, Chopping Block owner Shelley Young, and Linda Hoskins, executive director of the American Pie Council.

Folks interested in volunteering can contact Kathy Rice at bapcvolunteers@gmail.com.

Further information can be found on the contest's website, Facebook page, or on Twitter @ApplePieContest.

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