If you want to celebrate Pi Day on March 14 with actual pie and not just math, The Friday Club can help.
Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, because the date is the same as the first three digits (3.14) of the irrational number Pi. (An irrational number is one where the decimal goes on forever without repeating.)
But back to the butter, sugar and fruit kind of pie.
Members of The Friday Club, a 122-year-old women’s charitable group in Yarmouth Port, are baking blueberry and apple pies and selling them for about $18 each. Orders are being taken through Sunday, March 12, by calling 508-362-5251, said club president Susan Maguire of West Barnstable.
Pies are to be picked up, and paid for, between 10 a.m. and noon Tuesday, March 14, at The Friday Club, 365 Route 6A in Yarmouth Port.
That address is a small, white two-story structure built in 1833 that is on both the local and National Register of Historic Places. Out front club members have hung their shingle: “The Friday Club, A Women’s Charitable Organization, Founded 1901.”
You could drive right by it most days, but when The Friday Club holds its monthly bake sales, the line often wraps around the building.
“We always try to balance supply and demand,” Maguire said. “When we run out of bakers, then we don’t have any more pies. I think that’s part of the cachet of our bake sales, that people know we are going to sell out in 20 minutes.”
The Pi Day sale is pre-order only, meaning you can’t buy a pie unless you ordered one. But if you can’t pre-order, you can plan to visit the pre-Easter pie sale on April 8.
Right now, The Friday Club has 51 members (all women) and, Maguire said, is looking for a few more. Prospective members can call her for more information at 508-420-0576.
Club members are asked to bake and donate two items per month. Those who don’t want to make pie can bake another dessert. One member’s almond cakes became so popular, The Friday Club hosts a pre-sale for them in December.
Friday Club members also make crafts to sell at several sales throughout the year. Group members sell lobster rolls at the Aug. 12 bake sale and last year, Maguire said, the group added a Hydrangea Decorated Cupcakes sale which, once again this year, will coincide with the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival in July. There is also an all-blueberry bake sale on July 22 and a strawberry shortcake sale on June 24.
The Friday Club members meet one Friday evening a month (hence the name) and there are subcommittees including the bake sale committee which sets prices.
“We haven’t had to increase our prices too much because everything is donated,” Maguire said.
Club members use glass or tin pie plates, often picked up at thrift stores, and put a note on the bottom encouraging customers to return them if they are not being re-used at home.
One of the unique things about The Friday Club baked goods is that each baker uses her own recipe so if you ordered three blueberry pies they might each have their own taste and look.
The Friday Club raised and donated nearly $20,000 in 2022, Maguire said. Funds supported Independence House, A Baby Center, St. Joseph House, Hands of Hope food pantry, Yarmouth Food Pantry, Salvation Army, Cape Cod Times Needy Fund, Yarmouth Recreation for Flax Pond Camp, Lower Cape Outreach and Fill a Backpack.
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