Faribault Lions Pancake Event More Than Delicious

On January 15, 1967 the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) collided in the first overall title game played between the two leagues before a merger.

It was called the AFL NFL World Championship Game featuring NFL Champion Green Bay and AFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

The game was played at the Los Angeles Coliseum and is the only NFL Championship Game not to be played before a packed house.  The Coliseum was about 2/3 full.

The Packers led 14-10 at the half and won 35-10.  Packers quarterback Bart Starr was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game.

The story goes Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt wanted to call the contest the Super Bowl but Commissioner Pete Rozelle did not like the name.  We all know what happened later.

On that date the Faribault Lions Club held their first Pancakes and Sausage Feast.

One of the original committee members for the event Ray Sanders did stop by for a visit Sunday, February 5, 2023  at the American Legion where the event was held for it's second consecutive year following COVID.

Sanders is now well into his 90's but still gets around well.

On past KDHL AM Minnesota programs Sanders has recalled they decided to "give it a try."

Obviously it became a tradition each year and while the game grew in popularity so did the Pancakes and Sausage Feast.

The Lions called this year's event the 56th because of missing in February 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

These past two years the event was not held in conjunction with the big NFL game.

The crowds are not as big as they once were but Shermayne Cross one of the current Lions Pancake Committee members called Sunday's event a, "success. There was a steady number of people enjoying the food and visiting with others in the community."

During peak years serving well over 1,200 people was the average but the last several years numbers have gone down.

No official count yet but ticket takers Sunday estimated about 400 people were served.

This is the local chapter's largest fundraiser.  Proceeds benefit many local projects like giving a dictionary to every third grader in Faribault and Medford.

The Lions have been heavily involved in assisting the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind and State Academy for the Deaf in getting needed items not provided by state funds.

The Lions Den on the MSAB campus for example is an apartment where graduating students can learn independent living.

Each year Lions request people bring their used eyeglasses and hearing aids so they can be recycled and taken to Central and South America locations where they are distributed free to people in need of them.

Faribault Lions was officially chartered on October 11, 1921 (My Dad's 5th birthday) just three years after the organization was started.  It is now worldwide.

The Lions motto, "We Serve" is at the heart of the organization.

The pancakes are made with a special recipe and are very delicious.  The sausages are tasty also.

In recent years sprinkles have been brought and this year we had whipped cream and blueberry and strawberry syrup for people to spruce up their cakes.

The whipped cream and blueberry syrup were particularly popular.

But the heart of the event is the fact it provides resources to do all the good community projects Faribault Lions do.

Tickets were 10 dollars for adults and $5 for those age 12 and younger for all the food you can eat.

Faribault Lions would like to thank the scores and scores of people who stopped by Sunday and invite all of you to come down next year.

It was awesome to see the many young families attending this year.  Most kids like pancakes but as noted this event is about more than delicious pancakes because the Lions motto is, "We Serve."

Faribault Lions are also taking part in Lions KidSight USA FREE vision screenings for kids aged 6 months to 6 years.  You can schedule to have screenings at your preschool or daycare.

It's fast, touchless and provides 95 percent accuracy.  Early detection of vision issues is essential.  Contact Faribault Lion Shermayne Cross if interested.

Lions are the world's largest service club with approximately 1.4 million members in about 46,000 clubs located in more than 200 countries.