If you want to show off your baking skills, get prepared for a special Independence Day contest at Nichols Park.
The Jacksonville Sunrise Rotary Club will be holding a long-celebrated Pie and Cake Contest and Auction as part of the Rotary Fourth of July Blast on the North Veranda of the Nichols Park Pavilion. Jay Jamison, a member of the local Sunrise Rotary Club, details when all contestants should arrive with their baked goods.
“Entrants can bring their pies and cakes. There’s no entry fee. Just show up, judging will start at noon, but folks can bring their pies and cakes any time after 11 a.m.”
Jamison says kids can join the fun, and that winners in all categories receive a prize.
“We have a category for children, I believe anyone under the age of 16, so any kid can make a pie or a cake and bring it to the north side of the pavilion in Nichols Park. We have cash prizes in all categories.”
Jamison wants people planning to participate to know that if you bring a baked good for judging, don’t expect the serving tray you use for display to be returned to you.
“There will be a small group of judges, and then there will be a professional auctioneer that will auction off all the pies and cakes for this contest. I suggest that, if you bring a pie or a cake for this event, use some sort of serving tray that you will not mind parting from.”
Also, the Jacksonville Sunshine Rotary Club will not accept ALL types of cakes or pies.
“We ask that no one bring any soft or meringue pies, just because it’s going to be hot and probably humid, and we also stipulate that you are allowed to use a cake mix as a base in the preparation of your cake.”
If you want to participate, you now have two weeks to plan your cake or pie, and there is no cost to enter the competition. For more information, contact Sonie Smith at (217) 245-4636.