Celebrate Hoover Day, an annual, fun-filled, family-friendly event that culminates in the cutting of a gigantic apple pie, is set for April 25, 11 am to 3 pm, at Veterans Park on Valleydale Road. Judging from past Celebrate Hoover events, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people are expected to attend. The event is free to the public.
“As always, we’ll have kids’ activities, live entertainment, business exhibitors, document shredding for anyone who needs that service, and – of course – the pie,” said Erin Colbaugh, Hoover’s Director of Parks & Recreation. “It’s just basically a great day to come out to one of our most popular parks, meet up with friends, gather with your family, and just enjoy the day and being together.”
The history of the pie goes back to 2010, when organizers were seeking a way to add a memorable twist to Celebrate Hoover Day. When someone came up with the idea of baking the largest pie in Alabama history, everyone agreed that a record-breaking project that people could eat would leave a lasting impression. The idea became a reality, and the famous apple pie has now attained the status of a Hoover tradition.
Prepared by students of the Jefferson State Culinary & Hospitality Institute, assisted by the City of Hoover’s Building Services staff, and baked in a massive oven built especially for the yearly festivities, the pie requires not only a massive effort but a truckload of ingredients as well.
“The pie is baked in a 10-foot by 11 inches pan, which goes into a 12 by 12 feet oven that we constructed years ago for this very thing,” said Colbaugh.
Each helping of the pie (topped with ice cream, of course) is a piece of Americana, a sweet, memory-making dessert that’s been one of the country’s favorite desserts since the 1700s.
“We do this every year to celebrate all the good things about our community,” said Colbaugh. “Hopefully, we’ll have a nice weather day, which will encourage everybody to come out for some free activities and entertainment.”
In addition to the pie, food and beverage offerings will be available for purchase on-site from food trucks and other vendors. Convenient parking is available at the park and at Spain Park High School.
Celebrate Hoover Day is sponsored by the City of Hoover.
How to Bake a 2,000-Pound Apple Pie
Gather your ingredients
Pull out your favorite apple pie recipe, multiply the ingredients by a LOT, and create a grocery list accordingly. If you don’t have a heavy-duty pickup truck, you should probably borrow one. Call a few strong friends and ask them to meet you at the grocery store.
Prepare the filling
Peel and slice 600 to 700 lbs. of apples. Combine the apples with lots of sugar, cinnamon, other spices, and thickener until the mixture weighs over 1,000 lbs. (Oops! Did we not tell you you’re going to need an industrial scale?)
Prepare the crust
Create a standard 400-lb. top crust by mixing lots of flour, shortening, sugar, and salt. (NOTE: You’ll only need a top crust; you’ll still be waiting next year for a bottom crust to get done with this method of baking.)
Assemble the pie
Hopefully, you’ve arranged ahead of time for a forklift to place your 2,000-lb. pie in a suitably sized oven. (Sorry. We forgot to tell you about the forklift, too, didn’t we?) If not, you’d better do that next. Once the pan is situated, put your apple filling in it and put the crust on top.
Bake for 6 hours
Remove the pie from the oven with the forklift. Let it cool for a while before digging in. Top with ice cream and enjoy!
This recipe is very loosely based on information provided by the Jefferson State Culinary & Hospitality Institute. Shhh! We promised to keep their exact recipe top secret!