As if to confirm playwright David Mamet’s observation that, “Stress cannot exist in the presence of pie,” Wimberley pastry mavens generated plenty of sunshine at last week’s Pie Social. Driven indoors because of cloudy skies, nimble organizers from the Wimberley Institute of Cultures pivoted by holding the event in the Community Center, where pie lovers lined up to sample recipes from both sides of the cookbook.
While the public enjoyed live music from Jimmy Lee and Amy Cartee-Cox, judges were pinning ribbons on entries in four competition categories: fruit, nut, cream and savory.
The pie judging competition garnered 34 entries. Earning the ribbon for Grand Champion was Melissa Lemon who placed in three of the four categories. Winners in the Kid’s division were Logan Brown, Finley Gandy, Charlotte Zirkle, Rowan Parkinson and Gillian Zirkle.
Winners in the Fruit Pie division were:
First Place: Wayne Vincent for his Citrus Kiss and Berry Bliss; Second Place: Melissa Lemon for her Double Cherry Apple; and Third Place: Susie White for her Four Berry Pie.
Winners in the Nut Pie division were:
First Place: Juna Brown for her Chocolate Tahini Pecan; Second Place: Wayne Vincent for his Naughty Nut Delight; and Third Place: Melissa Lemon for her Island Pie.
Winners in the Cream division were:
First Place: Melissa Lemon for her Summer Breeze Lemon Pie; Second Place: Katelyn Vincent for her Syrup-titious; and Third Place: Harper Brown for her Chocolate Coffee Mascarpone Pie.
Winners in the Savory division were:
First Place: Susie White for her Tomato Pie; Second Place: Katelyn Vincent for her Spinach to Win; and Third Place: Debra Billups for her Tourtière.
Following the judging, pies were auctioned off by Ryan Rosborough. Absent from the 2026 social was the pie eating contest. A major fundraiser for the Wimberley Institute of Cultures, the Annual Pie Social supports not only the activities of the WIC but supports the Wimberley Valley Museum housed in the historic Winters-Wimberley House.
