Pancake Breakfast continues tradition

Imagine a day in July – the heat of summer just coming on for us here in the Northwest. You rise in the cool dusty morning and head up town, hours early for the parade. Finding a parking spot on the outskirts of town, so that you won’t get stuck later, you are just in time for the Pancake Breakfast. An annual tradition steeped in Vashon culture, it starts off the beginning of a carbohydrate filled weekend and the festival!

The atmosphere is relaxed – the excitement of the day is yet to build in the sleepy children who accompany their folks for pancakes. It’s like being there before the curtain opens to the main event – an insiders view. A back stage pass. Everyone appears to know each other – or rather the coffee helps them talk. Family members arrive and you go back for seconds. Strawberries on pancakes this time.

The Pancake breakfast has been a tradition to the Vashon festival for decades. And for as many years it was the Kiwanis that were serving it up. This year there is a change of guard and the Sportsmen’s Club members will be hosting the Pancake Breakfast. Jan Lyell, former president of the newly disbanded Kiwanis club and also a Sportsmen’s Club member, is co-chairing the event so continuity will prevail.

    The Sportsmen’s Club is an organization dedicated to the ideals of sportsmanship, outdoorsmanship, conservation, and general camaraderie. When members there learned of the shift in management for the Pancake Breakfast, many stepped forward enthusiastically to continue the tradition.

While Kiwanis was a service organization, the Sportsmen’s Club is a private organization. They run several other events during the year, some in conjunction with other groups both on and off the island: Camp Goodtimes, the Kids Fishing Derby and the Club Salmon Derby, just to name a few. Scholarship and education are a top priority for club members.  Archery, basic gun safety and advanced instruction are available. Visit their website for more details: www.vashonsportsmensclub.com.

Additionally the Vashon Sportsmen’s Education Association is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation arm of the club and is a scholarship philanthropy. Proceeds from the Pancake Breakfast will go to support this endeavor.

    The menu will stay about the same: pancakes, sausage, O J, Milk, coffee, strawberries and other pancake fixings. And you’ll find it in the same place at the IGA parking lot. All together, an affordable and enjoyable event.
Make the Pancake Breakfast part of your family tradition and see the Sportsmen’s serving it up hot on both July 19th (7-11a.m.) and the 20th (8-12 noon) during Festival this year.

Price (All you can eat) $8 Adults, $5 Children 10 and under.
Presales up to the day before the event, $7 for adult tickets – available at ticketing outlets: The Barber & Beauty Shop, Vashon Book Shop, and James Hair Design.