National Pie Day
National Pie Day is a celebration of pies that occurs annually in the United States on January 23. It started in the mid-1970s by Boulder, Colorado nuclear engineer, brewer and teacher Charlie Papazian[1] after he declared his own birthday, January 23, to be National Pie Day.[2] Since 1986, National Pie Day is sponsored by the American Pie Council.[3]
In 2014, the American Pie Council partnered with Paramount Pictures in promoting the romantic thriller film Labor Day in conjunction with National Pie Day.[4] (A pie-making scene features prominently in the film, and the film's general release was within a few days of National Pie Day.)
The APC distributed a promotional poster to pie shops and bakeries featuring images of the film's stars Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, and Gattlin Griffith in the pie-making scene. New York Post writer Lou Lumenick noted dryly that the scene was an "eccentric choice for a promotion" since Brolin's character is an escaped murderer and "before they all make pies together, he abducts them from a supermarket and ties both of them up... A bond does emerge between Brolin and his hostages before he surrenders to police. But still." The poster is captioned in part "It makes the time we spend together, just a little sweeter. Pie. Grab a slice of life."[5]
Notwithstanding any problematic overtones, though, Variety's take on the scene was "What damage [the 1999 film] American Pie did for the pie industry, Labor Day has reversed."[4]
References
- "National Pie Day: A Colorado-born holiday". The Denver Post. January 23, 2014.
- Aasen, Eric (January 21, 2012). "Sunday is National Pie Day, when pie takes center stage". The Dallas Morning News.
- "Who We Are". American Pie Council website. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- "'Labor Day' Partners with American Pie Council for National Pie Day". Variety. January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- Lou Lumenick (January 15, 2014). "Poster celebrates 'Make a Pie With a Murderer Day'". New York Post. Retrieved January 23, 2014.