Youth champion cake and pie bring about $15,000 at Great Frederick Fair auction
A coconut cake baked by 12-year-old Pearl O’Hara sold for $9,000 and Joellen Honeycutt’s grand champion apple pie brought $6,000 at the fair’s youth auction.
HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW
Pearl O’Hara’s grand champion coconut cake sold for $9,000. Joellen Honeycutt’s grand champion apple pie sold for $6,000. The two top entries combined for about $15,000. More than 100 youth pies and cakes were auctioned. Bakers receive 10% of their sale price. Remaining proceeds support youth programming and scholarships. Masyn Sanders’ hummingbird cake sold for $600. Gillian Capps’ blueberry pie sold for $325. Jack Capps’ white peach pie sold for $300.
A coconut cake and an apple pie made by two young Frederick County bakers combined to bring in about $15,000 Sunday at The Great Frederick Fair’s annual youth baked goods auction.
More than 100 judged pies and cakes made by 9- to 18-year-olds involved in 4-H were sold during the event. Each baker receives 10% of the sale price, while the remainder supports fair youth programs and scholarships.
The fair’s official site confirms that the Youth Cake & Baked Goods Sale supports youth programming and scholarships, with 10% of proceeds going directly to the baker.
The top-selling cake came from Pearl O’Hara, 12, of the Valley Urbanites 4-H Club.
O’Hara won grand champion with a coconut cake based on a family recipe her father had previously made for a reunion. Her cake sold for $9,000.
The Middletown Middle School student said the cake took roughly three hours to make and that icing it without getting crumbs into the frosting was one of the hardest parts.
O’Hara said she plans to save her share of the proceeds.
The grand champion pie came from Joellen Honeycutt, 16, of the Forever 4-Hers Club.
Honeycutt won with an apple pie recipe passed down through multiple generations of her family. Her pie sold for $6,000.
Honeycutt, a Middletown High School student, said the most difficult part was peeling and slicing eight to 10 apples by hand, with the slices needing to be extremely thin so they would bake evenly.
Other youth bakers also saw strong results.
Masyn Sanders, 16, of the Lewistown 4-H Club won the senior division champion cake title with a hummingbird cake made with bananas, pecans and pineapple. It sold for $600.
The auction also became a family affair for the Capps family.
Gillian Capps won the junior division champion pie with a blueberry pie that sold for $325, while her brother Jack Capps earned reserve champion in the senior division with a white peach pie that brought $300.
The sale is one of several fair programs designed to reward youth exhibitors while also generating money for future opportunities.
The Great Frederick Fair says proceeds from its youth baked goods sale have helped fund scholarships and youth programming in recent years.
WHAT IT MEANS
The auction is about more than expensive baked goods.
It gives young exhibitors a financial reward for their work while also raising money that goes back into fair youth programs and scholarships.
The results also highlight how deeply family traditions, 4-H involvement and community support remain tied to The Great Frederick Fair.
Original reporting referenced by Everything Frederick:
The Frederick News-Post — Reporting by Erik Anderson →Want more Frederick updates like this?
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