The Malibu United Methodist Church hosted the 26th annual Malibu Pie Festival last Saturday. Record-breaking heat did not keep locals and visitors from attending this long-standing local tradition.
The Malibu Pie Festival is an all-day celebration for family and friends to sample a selection of homemade treats. There are activities for every age, including two pie eating contests, arts and crafts, a drumming circle, live music from local musicians and martial arts demonstrations led by Ric Metzler.
The variety of pies continues to grow each year. This year’s entries included gluten-free, chocolate, seasonal, savory, apple and more. There were also several categories based off age.
Malibu resident Domenica Schiro, who has been baking her apple pie for over 60 years, enters the Malibu Pie Festival every year. This was the first time in 17 years that Schiro did not win a ribbon, but says she is very happy for all the winners.
After attending the pie festival for the last two years, Webster Elementary students Kylie and Logan Epstein decided to enter a pie in this year’s contest. Their pie — Chocomania, is made with an Oreo and potato chip crust, chocolate mousse filling made with Nutella, cream cheese and whipped cream, and whipped cream frosting — was designed especially for a child’s palate.
“We made the pie ourselves,” the Epstein girls shared. “Our mom was there to supervise, but we did all the work. Smashing up the Oreos and doing the piping were the most fun!”
Although the girls didn’t place in this year’s contest, that didn’t squelch their excitement and enthusiasm to enter the contest again next year.
“Our favorite part was entering and sampling the other pies” the sisters shared. “We’re not sure what pie we’ll enter next year, but this year we learned that it’s fun to enter, even if you don’t win a ribbon.”
