Free Pie & Celebrations on Pi Day
In honor of Pi Day – a day noted by math enthusiasts around the world – on Tuesday, March 14 (3.14) we will be celebrating all day by serving a free slice of ABC (Michigan Apples, Blueberries, Cherries) Pie with any purchase. Pie is a perfect complement to our craveable comfort foods including Chicken Pot Pies, traditional beef pasties, and gourmet Mac and Cheese. Stop in to any of our 15 shops to celebrate Pi and Pie with us.
Michigan Agriculture Month
Pi Day, March 14th, is also part of Michigan Food and Agriculture Month. We are joining forces with the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) and Michigan Farm Bureau in encouraging Michiganders to celebrate math, education, and agriculture. Did you know the sugar, flour, apples, blueberries, and cherries in our ABC pie are all grown and produced in Michigan?
“This is a great time of year to honor the role our farmers play in providing us with a safe and abundant food supply, as well as being a strong contributor to Michigan’s economic foundation,” said Jamie Clover Adams, MDARD’s director. “We offer tremendous business and career opportunities in Michigan. From skilled trades to technology-based careers to veterinarians to starting your own food-based company, the possibilities for ag education are endless.”
Pi Themed Events
This year we are also pleased to team up with Michigan State University and Wayne State University for Pi Day. To honor the day every year, we love to take part in a variety of Pi themed events. This year we have paired with students in the MSU Broad College of Business MBA program to serve pie slices on campus along with ice cream from the MSU Dairy Store. Donations are encouraged and all proceeds will be given to Small Talk Children’s Advocacy Center in Ingham County and the students learn valuable lessons in supply chain management. “A central component to the business education here at Broad is the focus on community betterment, so we do this type of fundraising at the business college because it is who we are as Spartans and who we are as Broad MBA students,” said Steve Newark, organizer of the Pi Day event and President of Community Outreach for the Graduate Supply Chain Management Association.
Wayne State University will host 1,000 6th – 9th graders for a STEM conference on Pi Day and will plan a “Pi Off” contest to recite Pi Digits in competition with Dean Raskind, B.A. and Ph.D. in Mathematics.
Dean Raskind has some amazing Pi skills! He can recite up to the 1,200th digit.
“We are thrilled to be celebrating Pi (Day) and Pie with the MSU and WSU students and faculty this year. Pi Day is special as it ties in education while creating pie memories with a bonus of helping others in the process. That’s the Power of Pie and Pi together,” said Mike Busley, cofounder of the Grand Traverse Pie Company.
Pi Day Video Contest
To top off the Pi Day celebration, we will again run the very popular Pi Day video contest offering prizes of $150 in GT Pie gift cards or the top prize of pie for a year for individuals. Awards will be given for reciting Pi digits and for the most informative and entertaining video about Pi. To view some ideas, see Pi Day video entries or view the full contest details on our blog.
We have also opened the contest to schools this year, the winning classroom will receive $500 in cash for classroom supplies.
What is Pi?
Pi, Greek letter (π), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535… With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating. The symbol for pi was first used in 1706 by William Jones, but was popular by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1737.
We hope you join us for an amazing day of Pi and Pie fun. We offer over 40 varieties of hand-crafted pie. Every GT Pie Company location has on-site bakers delivering the made-from-scratch, just baked taste of pie each and every day.