National Pizza Day —a slice of ‘genius’

SHARON — No matter how you slice it, the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon’s observance of National Pizza Day was a hit, attracting young families to socialize, enjoy and rate pizzas, make fanciful pizza jewelry and create pizza masks on Thursday, Feb. 8. The event was held at the library’s temporary home at the American Legion Hall.

Large pizzas were donated by Deano’s of Lakeville for the children to decide their preferred toppings, whether plain cheese, meat or veggie.

Adding to the fun was a display of a dozen children’s books that have been published on the subject of pizza. Little-known facts about pizza, assembled by the librarians, included that pepperoni is the most popular of all toppings and that up to three billion pizzas are sold annually in the U.S.

Incidentally  that does not count another billion in frozen pizzas.

And did anyone realize that 17% of all restaurants in the U.S. are pizzerias?

“Pizza is one of my favorite foods. I like a reason to celebrate with the kids,” said children’s librarian Samantha Morosani, adding that it is a good reason to get kids into the library. “And I love Deano’s,” she said.

Morosani said that earlier in the year, the library had held a waffle celebration in observance of National Waffle Day, also a success that will be repeated in the future.

The Adkins family members from Salisbury were evenly divided over favorite toppings, with Evelyn who is now 10, nearly 11, preferring the meat topping and Theo at 5, going for the cheese. Their mother Ashley favored the veggie, indicating that it is often difficult to order a pizza for the group.

With appropriate Italian music providing ambiance, Sharon resident Audra Salazar and her daughter, Lucy (10, but turning 11 in March), were enjoying everything about the event.

“It’s genius; I like the food,” Lucy said. Her mother added, “If you feed them, they will come.”