Loveland’s Cherry Pie Celebration is This Saturday!

Loveland Colorado will celebrate a part of its history on Saturday with the annual Cherry Pie Celebration! Get more on Loveland's cherry history and the activities for the celebration- inside!

Saturday July 19th Lovelanders will come together for Loveland Museum/Gallery's annual Cherry Pie Celebration!

The event will be at Peters Park, right next to the museum/gallery from 5pm-8pm.  You'll be able to buy pie by the slice, ice cream, and drinks.  They will also have kids activities, historical displays and live music from Papa Juke (5-6:15) and the Joe O'Bryan Band (6:45-8:00).

It's all to celebrate Loveland's history with the cherry. Back in the '40s and '50s, Loveland was a hot spot for cherries- there were 10,000 acres of cherries with hundreds of trees occupying the area now known as Orchard's Shopping Center.  It was a million dollar industry- the cherries were harvested factories in Loveland (Kuner-Empson/Loveland Canning/Cherry Products Corp.)

Even as a kid in the '70s, after the cherry industry had dwindled, I remember all the cherry stands along highway 34 just outside of town on the way to Estes Park (they used to sell 80-100 pies a day back in the heyday).  One of those stands still remains-  The Colorado Cherry Company is one of the sponsors of Loveland's Cherry Pie Celebration!

A member of Loveland’s Historical Society, Robin Schlingman, will give a talk covering Loveland’s cherry history that afternoon. That’s great, because Robin is a past Cherry Pie Contest competitor! In 1950, Robin won the contest (after baking her pie IN FRONT OF THE JUDGES) and won a trip to a national competition in Chicago! 

The 'Art of the Tart' Cherry Pie Contest!

• Two categories – Adult & Student (under 18)
• Pies must be received at the contest table by 4:30 pm
• Category winners will be announced at 6:30 pm
• Pies judged on crust, filling texture, taste and overall appearance
• Commercially baked pies are not allowed
• All pies must be prepared within 24 hours of the 4:30 pm deadline

Good Luck!

[Source- Reporter-Herald]