KACU checked out everything from the all-you-can-eat pie buffet to the contests and activities.
Cisco, Texas’s claim to fame is being home to Conrad Hilton’s first hotel. The town of around four-thousand is working to build a new reputation as a destination for pie-lovers.
Last Saturday pie enthusiasts filled Conrad Hilton Park taste-testing a wide assortment of pies.
The event featured competitions ranging from a car show to a pie-baking contest. Marylou Strange took home the thousand-dollar grand prize for her cinnamon roll cheesecake.
At the main stage attendees watched competitors chow down at the pie-eating contest.
This is the second year Cisco High School student Ryder Boykin has competed in the contest.
“You know, it's kind of just luck of who can eat the fastest, but, you know, it kind of gets gross, but you just got to power through it,” Boykin said, “he has four hundred dollars on the line. And like you just got to keep that mindset.”
Boykin claimed victory for the second year in a row, devouring blueberry pie. Boykin says the competition this year was tough.
“There was two guys that finished, like, similar with me, and they were going at it pretty well. And it got pretty gross at the end. So I had to like stand up and hover over the pie just to get it down,” Boykin said.
To some attendees the pie brought up fond memories of pie from home. Lana Pittman, a Californian visiting the festival with a friend reminisced over their grandma’s homemade peach cobbler.
“Well, I like burnt stuff. And so her crust was always really crusty and crunchy. That's what I liked,” Pittman said, “And the peaches were off of trees, so that made it nice, too.”
At the 40-foot all-you-can-eat pie buffet the options were impressive. Some went for the traditional homemade cherry and apple pie while more adventurous guests tried a piece of the grasshopper or the blueberry jalapeno pies.
Jacob Jarvis sampled the pumpkin, buttermilk, and pecan pies. Jarvis says the pie buffet is no place for self-control.
“It's kind of hard when there's forty pieces of pie per table and there's eight tables. So yeah, there's plenty of pie to eat,” Jarvis said.
But Cisco’s Pie Fest isn’t just pie. The event has grown over the years–and this year drew its largest crowd of food trucks and 100 vendors for locals and visitors enjoying a perfect fall day. From a freeze-dried candy booth to a charm bracelet station each vendor had something unique to offer.
In Legacy Park, Texas Tornadoes Line Dance Company performed some routines–and gave festival goers a chance to burn off some calories.
The proceeds from this event go to Cisco Strong, a civic group whose mission is to foster pride in the community by restoring and revitalizing the town.
While the population of Cisco might make it small to some, community leaders have built a sweet fall festival that they hope will continue to grow—and will raise the town’s visibility.
