Centerville volunteers are prepared to serve 26,000 pancakes Saturday in a Guinness World Record attempt for most pancakes served in a single-setting during its annual Pancake Day celebration.
The town will try to break a world record of 13,000 pancakes set just this June by a Hy-Vee store in Blue Springs, Missouri; a Kansas City suburb. Hy-Vee will donate 2,400 pounds of pancake mix to help the town break the company's own record.
Pancakes will be served from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday on the Centerville town square. The pancakes will be free. Centerville Tourism Director Delaney Evers said realistically 20,000 to 21,000 pancakes will likely be served.
"We're prepared to double the record, if everything works out in our favor," Evers said. "That being said, this is the Midwest. It's a bunch of people coming home. We get chatty in line."
Pancake Day started in 1948 as a way for manufacturers around Centerville, including a Pillsbury facility, to show appreciation for their employees by giving them free pancakes on the town square.
"Pancakes were the natural thing to serve," Evers said.
As manufacturers left Centerville, community members took on the event and turned it into a regional celebration. A parade, petting zoo, magic show and other free family activities will follow the world record attempt.
During a regular year, Centerville serves between 17,000 and 18,000 pancakes anyway, Evers said. Last year's Pancake Day was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the Guinness World Record attempt and pent-up excitement after last year's cancelation, Evers said she thinks more pancakes will be served than in previous years.
But the 100 volunteers must make pancakes to much stricter specifications than in usual years, Evers said. Guinness mandates that each pancake be at least 5 inches in diameter, but no more than 1 centimeter in thickness. An adjudicator from Guinness can pick out a pancake at any time and disqualify it if it does not meet those specifications, Evers said.
The town will try to break a world record of 13,000 pancakes set just this June by a Hy-Vee store in Blue Springs, Missouri; a Kansas City suburb. Hy-Vee will donate 2,400 pounds of pancake mix to help the town break the company's own record.
Pancakes will be served from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday on the Centerville town square. The pancakes will be free. Centerville Tourism Director Delaney Evers said realistically 20,000 to 21,000 pancakes will likely be served.
"We're prepared to double the record, if everything works out in our favor," Evers said. "That being said, this is the Midwest. It's a bunch of people coming home. We get chatty in line."
Pancake Day started in 1948 as a way for manufacturers around Centerville, including a Pillsbury facility, to show appreciation for their employees by giving them free pancakes on the town square.
"Pancakes were the natural thing to serve," Evers said.
As manufacturers left Centerville, community members took on the event and turned it into a regional celebration. A parade, petting zoo, magic show and other free family activities will follow the world record attempt.
During a regular year, Centerville serves between 17,000 and 18,000 pancakes anyway, Evers said. Last year's Pancake Day was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the Guinness World Record attempt and pent-up excitement after last year's cancelation, Evers said she thinks more pancakes will be served than in previous years.
But the 100 volunteers must make pancakes to much stricter specifications than in usual years, Evers said. Guinness mandates that each pancake be at least 5 inches in diameter, but no more than 1 centimeter in thickness. An adjudicator from Guinness can pick out a pancake at any time and disqualify it if it does not meet those specifications, Evers said.
Bring your appetite! Centerville goes for Guinness World Record for most pancakes served on Pancake Day
Centerville usually makes 17,000 pancakes during its Pancake Day celebration. Now the city is trying officially break a Guinness World Record.
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