The Lions 65th Annual Pancake Breakfast is Saturday, September 28, from 7:30 – 11 a.m. at the Santa Monica Boys and & Girls Club, 1238 Lincoln Blvd. We hope you can join us for a morning of fun and great food. Proceeds from this event support multiple Westside charities that offer services to our local community, as well as Lions vision services that are provided free of charge to people in Santa Monica. In addition, SM Lions support local school programs at McKinley Elementary, the Lions Student Speaker Contest, SAMO High scholarships, and the Dot Gelvin Memorial Scholarship Fund at Santa Monica College.
To better appreciate the light, fluffy pancakes we serve, here are some fun facts to think about as you build up your appetite for Saturday’s delicious fare.
Pancakes can be traced back 30,000 years ago to the stone age, but they did not start being called pancakes until the 15th century when the first recipe appeared in an English cookbook.
Pancakes are found all around the world, but the ingredients and appearances can vary. So do the names, such as the French crepe, Russian blini, Welsh crampog, Indian poori, Hungarian palacsinta, Dutch pannenkoeken, and potato latkes.
Pancake Day is Shrove Tuesday before Lent, originally because people were not allowed to eat animal products like milk, butter, and eggs. To prevent them from going to waste these ingredients were cooked into tall stacks of pancakes.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “flat as a pancake”, has been a catchphrase since at least 1611.
The British seem to have a fascination with pancakes, holding world records for the world’s largest pancake at 49 feet 3 inches, most flips by one person at 349 flips in two minutes and the most people simultaneously tossing pancakes being 890.
The US, not to be outdone, has the highest pancake toss at 31 feet 1 inch and the most pancakes made in one hour by an individual being 1,092.
The first commercial ready-mix batter was Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented in 1889 in St. Joseph, Missouri.
In the US, southerners eat the most pancakes, accounting for 32.5%.
The US produced 3.17 million gallons of maple syrup in 2014, most of it to be used with pancakes.
Hopefully, you are now in the mood for pancakes and will attend our breakfast on the 28th. Tickets are $7 and children 12 and under are free. It is a great family event and fun place to meet up with friends before starting your day.
If this event inspires you to volunteer and serve the Santa Monica community, please contact Marilynn Schalit at marilynnschalit@yahoo.com or 310-903-8819 or Yoriko Fisher at yorikofisher@gmail.com or 443-883-1101, to learn more about becoming a Lion.
Susan DeRemer
Global Service Team Chair
District 4-L3
Santa Monica Lions Club
