Town celebrates annual Pi Day with ‘Geek Freak’ activities

Geek Freak weekend is the brainchild of local residents Mimi Omiecinski, owner of the Princeton Tour Company, and Joy Chen, owner of the Nassau Street business JOYcards. Three years ago, Omiecinski realized that Einstein, who was affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study, was born on Pi Day in 1879 and proposed a celebration to the Princeton Public Library. She collaborated with Chen to market the event, which has grown from a single Sunday to a yearly three-day affair.

“Princeton’s a unique town in that it’s world class, but it’s really a small community,” Omiecinski said. Each participant of Geek Freak weekend, according to Omiecinski, is a volunteer. “It really is a community-wide event,” she said.

But Geek Freak weekend isn’t just for the science geeks. Chen explained that the organizers did not just want to focus on the math and physics aspects of the event. This year, the PiFight Band and YWCA of Princeton sponsored a No-Socks Sock Hop at the YWCA in honor of Einstein’s distaste for wearing socks. Likewise, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra held a children’s violin contest, as Chen explained that Einstein was a violin player and friend of famous Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki.

This year, Omiecinski and Chen said they wanted to perfect the “fun events” while fleshing out the more academic ones. In addition to the traditional pie-eating contest, they invited world-class authors to speak at the library and expanded the mathlete program.

One of the biggest draws was the pi-recitation contest sponsored by the Princeton Public Library. Math professor John Conway, whose son holds the record for the most wins, prefaced the contest by explaining the difference between counting digits and substantial numbers.

Omiecinski said that events featuring academics such as Conway, novelist Alan Lightman and physicist Freeman Dyson added another dimension to the event.

“We think every year we just move the needle a bit more, keep the approachable piece, but also keep the brainiac side,” she said.

In the adult division of the recitation contest, Brian Stephens repeated his win from last year with 2,222 digits of pi. The 13-year-old Juliette van Schaik took home the $314.15 prize with 1,705 digits memorized.

Stephen Stolzenberg ’13, USG vice president, was asked to judge the contest and said it was a great opportunity to connect with the local community.

“It seems to me that the kids on the other side of FitzRandolph Gate are just as sharp as the ones on this side,” Stolzenberg said. He received a spreadsheet with 2,500 digits of pi and had to follow the contestants as they recited.

Other events included an Einstein look-alike contest, a Rubik’s Cube competition and Einstein re-enactor tours around town.

Pi Day celebrations concluded with tours and a movie screening at the public library on Wednesday, but Omiecinski and Chen are already thinking about next year.