Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 (for the first three digits of its math counterpart, 3.14) around the world, according to piday.org.
“‘Pi’ is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.”
And, according to the website, Pi Day is an annual opportunity for math enthusiasts to recite the infinite digits of Pi, talk to their friends about math and eat pie.
Here in Santa Clarita, Pi Day is widely celebrated, according to Laura Jardine, owner of the Santa Clarita Valley specialty bakery The Pie Tin.
“Pie has always been a big deal in our family, but we didn’t know how big of a day it was until we opened up this place,” Jardine said. “We didn’t know how seriously people took it, and last year, we sold out a lot earlier. So, this year, we ramped it up, and served over 255 slices to people.”
Every March 14, the bakers of The Speakeasy Bakery Facebook group have baked pies auctioned off on a Facebook page dedicated to the group and auction. According to Pi Day event organizers, 100 percent of the proceeds go to FeedSCV, a local nonprofit that works to instill Santa Clarita residents with the knowledge and resources to have a locally sourced, fresh and healthy meal at home every day.
“They had over 50 pies come in for this year’s fundraiser,” said Jardine, adding that the nonprofit has raised over a couple thousand dollars once again this year for charity.
In addition to work being done on behalf of nonprofits here in Santa Clarita, math classrooms across Santa Clarita had been turned into Pi Day party rooms.
Nicole Kim’s pre-calculus class at West Ranch High School decided to use a “minimum day” to host fun math-related games, eat pies and share with one another their pie recipes — all in the name of spurring interest in mathematics and the importance of Pi within our daily lives.
