Organizers were prepared to welcome 400 to 500 diners at the 68th annual Pancake Festival on Saturday, March 2 at The Village Church in Northbrook.
The Pancake Festival has been held in Northbrook since 1956.
“For us, it’s about bringing people together … letting them see and meet their neighbors, and hopefully create some new friendships and some new traditions,” said Dave Owen of Northbrook, pancake festival chairman.
“That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Approximately 25 to 30 volunteers gave of their time for the paid entry event which ran from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“I want to say thank you,” Owen said in a shout-out to volunteers.
This year’s main charity partner, rotating annually, was Hunger Free Northbrook, which assists local children. Other beneficiaries include local graduation night programming, the Northfield Township Food Pantry in Glenview, and local Girl Scout troops.
At https://www.hungerfreenorthbrook.org, one can learn about the Student Food Pack Program. Hunger Free Northbrook is based in Northbrook.
“We are raising money for charity but a lot of it is a community event,” Owen said.
The all you can eat breakfast for a nominal fee included regular and chocolate chip pancakes. The breakfast also featured sausage and beverages including coffee and orange juice. There were raffles and entertainment too.
Doug Kissner of Glenview, procurement chair and head chef, said the event required about 180 pounds of pancake mix (for approximately 2,000 pancakes), more than 100 pounds of sausage, about 400 or 500 cups of coffee, and 40 gallons of orange juice.
“It’s going to be a busy day,” Kissner said early Saturday morning as the event got started.
“It’s a lot of fun.”
Jim Murphy of Northbrook and J.R. Peterson, 10, a fourth-grader from Northbrook, were among the volunteers who arrived early to get the kitchen started.
Murphy mixed the first batch of pancake mix with a commercial-grade mixer and J.R. brought the mix in a bucket down the stairs to Westminster Hall from the kitchen to the grills set up for the festival.
“It was heavy,” J.R. said of carrying the bucket, adding, “I love to help out.”
Volunteer Mike Pagenkopf of Northbrook, of the 1988 Class of Glenbrook North High School, staffed the grill with other volunteers.
“I love doing it,” Pagenkopf said. “I grew up in this church. It’s important to do these things…and to help the community.”
J.D. Mathein of Northbrook volunteered as emcee. Mathein engaged with the audience by asking them to retrieve things like lip balm for a prize. First finder won a gift of candy, for example. Gift certificates were distributed by pulling random tickets, and paced with diners as they shared a meal in the dining hall.
“It’s a wonderful thing to do, not only for the Village Church but for the community,” Mathein said of emceeing. “It’s my favorite thing.”
Deb Valkenaar of Prospect Heights was also among the volunteers and was seen helping to set up the dining hall.
“This is where my church family is,” Valkenaar said. “It’s just a great community event.
“It’s just a wonderful day.”
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
