ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Pancake Day is rapidly approaching, and the Pancake Day Committee hopes everyone will enjoy the day’s festivities from beginning to end, including the annual parade.
The Pancake Day Parade will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 4 and will follow the same route as the 4th of July parade and start at Trail Street and then go north. As Pancake Day General Chair Mike Brack tells it, coordinating this year’s parade almost interfered with another big event.
“Funny enough, we discovered about a month ago Seward County Community College's Homecoming activities will also be going on the weekend of the Pancake Day stuff, and they had originally planned on having a parade for that Saturday, which is when the flipping and eating contests will be happening,” Brack said. “We immediately got in touch with them to get their plans since we didn't want to step on their toes, and after some discussions, they decided to ultimately forego the parade plans, because that's a lot to ask the community to put floats together for two full parades.”
Brack and fellow Pancake Day Committee members John Engel and Chuck Bowman said they hope to see a big turnout for this year’s parade.
“There are a lot of the community's young people who will be participating in the parade with the bands and other school groups, and that's something to really be proud of, so come out and see them and cheer them on as they represent not just whichever group they're part of, but also the Liberal community as a whole,” Brack said. “And for the younger people who will be in the audience, there's a lot of candy and other gifts and goodies that will be thrown out. I'm always excited to see and hear 'That' Liberal Band, they're our parade ambassadors, and being an alumnus, it's just great seeing them in their uniforms and hearing them play their music. We've gotten multiple entries so far, but there are still multiple entries we're waiting to hear from, and I'm sure we'll get more forms in in the coming days. Even all the way back a few weeks ago, I had local teachers call me and ask if their students' group could be part of the parade, and that's always an enthusiastic 'Yes.'”
“This is truly an original Liberal holiday, and it's one of the most unique parts of our community's history,” Engel added. “This year's theme is 'Bringing Everyone Together With Pancakes,' and I remember a few years ago, the theme was 'Building Communities, Bridging Continents,' which was VERY close to the Rotary International theme for that year, so that was really neat, and it just fit perfectly.”
“We also want to not beat Olney just in the race, but also in terms of community spirit,” Bowman said with a chuckle. “The Olney representatives who have come in the past, they've all made the comment about us taking Pancake Day to much more extreme levels than they do. They typically just have a big breakfast and the race and maybe some other minor activities, but I can't tell you how many times I've heard 'Only in the U.S. can a race that lasts less than two minutes be drawn out into a four-day extravaganza.' But that's just how we do things, and everyone tends to have a lot of fun.”
Bowman and Brack agreed the parade is always a fun time for the community.
“The Rotary Club takes a lot of pride in being in charge of the parade and hosting it every year. It really brings everyone together, and I feel like if someone else tried to take things over, I feel like there would be some hard feelings,” Bowman said. “We take a lot of pride in our work with the parade, and when people see us Rotarians working together, it's great for them to see us working so well, especially since it's such a uniquely Liberal event.”
“There are a lot of different moving parts to any parade, and there's a lot that happens closer to the last minute, like final float entries and lining everyone up and all of those logistics,” Brack said. “The stuff we can get arranged ahead of time, however, like the traffic control and law enforcement presence and all of that, we definitely do. It's a lot of work, but it's always well worth it, especially when we see the smiles on everyone's faces upon seeing one float or another. And as biased as I might sound, I think the Pancake Day parade is the best of all the parades Liberal hosts, and that's because of how much extra work we do to make it happen.”
Overall, Brack and Bowman added, they hope to see another successful Pancake Day parade.
“This year is particularly special because our Grand Marshals are Al Shank Jr's children: Mark, Megan and Miranda, and Al was such a big part of the community as a Pancake Day leader, Rotary Club leader, and many other groups, so we're more than happy to honor a man who contributed so, so much to Liberal,” Bowman said. “We'd love to see a high turnout even just for that, because they're coming into town, and again, he was just such a big Liberal figure.”
“When I broached the idea with them, it didn't take Mark but a few seconds to say 'I'm in!' and then he talked to his sisters and got their go-ahead as well, so I'm glad they'll be able to be in Liberal to help celebrate their father and Pancake Day,” Brack added. “And Al inherited his civic engagement from his father, who was also a big figure in Liberal and was part of a lot of Liberal's bigger events. This is a great way to pay tribute to him, and just overall, it should be a great parade for everyone in the community to take part in for this year. There's only a little time left, so if you have an idea for a float, get together and just do it. Like I said before, we'll take all kinds of entries, and as the old saying goes, the more the merrier. I'd love to see school groups, youth groups, church groups, civic groups, local businesses, etc., to be part of the parade. This is the 76th iteration of Pancake Day, and it's just such a big community event, so we'd love to see everyone and anyone at the parade, whether they're on a float or in the crowds.”
