BELGRADE — On Saturday, the City of Belgrade hosted the Great Belgrade Apple Pie Bake-off at Belgrade Senior Center – the first of a series of events celebrating 250 years of America.
“I’m pretty excited,” said Isa Capp. “I see a lot of cool pies.”
11-year-old Isa Capp is an avid baker from Belgrade.
“I’m actually planning on going to culinary school and moving to Oregon,” said Isa.
WATCH: Belgrade kicked off its America 250 celebration with an apple pie bakeoff. Here's a look at the event and what's coming next.
Isa says she found out about Saturday’s apple pie bake-off through a newsletter.
“I thought, ‘Oh, I do a lot of cooking, I entered an apple pie in the fair last year,’” said Isa. “I was reserve champion. So, I decided ‘might as well do it.’”
Isa says she has always had an interest in baking and cooking.
“I’ve made macaroons, which was really fun,” said Isa. “I’ve made berry pies, and I make a lot of cookies.”
Her absolute favorite thing to make: “Probably apple pie.”
And she’s not alone. When MTN’s Esha Walia stopped by the Great Belgrade Apple Pie Bake-off on Saturday morning, while the pies were still rolling in, there were five pies entered in the contest.
As City of Belgrade communications manager Whitney Bermes says, the contest is part of a series of events celebrating 250 years of America.
“We thought there’s nothing more American than apple pie,” said Bermes.
“We want to have a series of events so people with all different interests feel like they can be part of the celebrations to celebrate not just America, but also Belgrade,” Bermes also said.
As Bermes explains, Saturday’s contest included three categories: youth, adult, and professional. There were also three judges, including the City of Belgrade mayor, Mike Meis, Belgrade Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Erin Hoppe, and assistant superintendent of Belgrade School District, Trey Olson.
“They will be judging pies on everything from appearance to crust to filling,” said Bermes.
The prizes ranged from $250 worth of gift cards to local eateries to merchandise, and more. Bermes says the prizes were generously provided by multiple sponsors.
Bermes says the City of Belgrade will be hosting America 250 events through July 4th, including a community clean-up, speakers at Belgrade Community Library, and potentially fireworks on July 3rd.
“The Belgrade community is always looking for fun events that are uniquely Belgrade, so we want to add to that; we want to bring the community together,” said Bermes.
