After several years away from its traditional format, Crawfordsville Kiwanis’ Pancake Day is returning as an in-person event Oct. 1.
The event will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club of Montgomery County. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 and include all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage and drinks, including coffee, orange juice and milk.
Pancake Day was established nearly 70 years ago by the Crawfordsville chapter of Kiwanis and has long been the club’s largest fundraiser.
“When I came to town about 10 years ago, a lot of people in town would talk about how their grandparents were either Kiwanians or they would go with grandpa and grandma or mom and dad and it’d be a family gathering and dinner,” Crawfordsville Kiwanis President Aaron Spolarich said.
The event was originally held at the Montgomery County 4-H Fairgrounds as an all-day, in-person gathering.
That changed in 2020 when the event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the years since, Kiwanis brought Pancake Day back in a different form, selling tickets for McDonald’s meals.
Spolarich said McDonald’s was a longtime partner during those years, donating time and resources to help the fundraiser continue.
But there was still a recurring question from the community.
“Ever since I’ve been president, people said the same things: When are you going back to an in-person Pancake Day?”
Spolarich said.
This year, the club decided it was time to bring the event back in person and move it from its traditional spring date to the fall.
Oct. 1 also marks the beginning of the Kiwanis calendar year, making the date a fitting one for the event, Spolarich said.
A portion of this year’s proceeds will go to the Boys & Girls Club. The partnership fits with Kiwanis’ focus on supporting children in the community, Spolarich said.
Locally, Kiwanis supports organizations and programs that serve children. The club also helps provide adaptive equipment for children with specific needs.
“We do our best to keep as much as we can local,” Spolarich said.
The club also supports Riley Children’s Hospital as one of its larger statewide fundraising efforts.
For this year’s Pancake Day, however, Kiwanis is not setting a specific fundraising goal.
“Since this is the first year back, we are just excited to be back in person and we’re hoping the community is receptive and excited to be coming back to the events,” Spolarich said.
The club also hopes the event will give community members an opportunity to learn more about Kiwanis.
“We really do see this not only as a fundraiser, but a way to just have some time with our community and open the doors and introduce Kiwanis to some people who may have never heard of us or forgotten about us after six years or so away,” Spolarich said.
Tickets can be purchased from Kiwanis members. Tickets also will be available day of at the event.
And the pancakes will be a true Kiwanis production.
“We make the pancakes ourselves,” Spolarich said.
For more information or inquiries email Spolarich at ajs@hereforlife.com.
