The 67th Annual Kiwanis Paul Bunyan Flapjack Day will be held from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the Memorial High School cafeteria.
The fundraiser events co-chairs are current Kiwanis board member Dennis Johnson, who has been club secretary for the past five years, and newly elected Kiwanis Division 12 Lieutenant Governor Becky Mattson.
Mattson said she will be the first woman Lt. Governor-elect for their division come October.
“The whole purpose of the pancake feed is to welcome community members to come and enjoy a breakfast meal,” Mattson said. “Every dollar we raise goes directly into providing for the youth in our community.”
According to the Kiwanis press release, they will be serving “pancakes, sausages, applesauce, blueberries, orange juice, coffee and milk.” Adult tickets are $10 and kid tickets are $5, unless the kids are under three, in which case they eat for free.
Attendees will be able to meet walk around characters such as Paul Bunyan and Pancake Man or Woman, which Mattson said is based on the volunteer. There will also be free books for kids at the event. This year, the event’s sponsor is Festival Foods this year.
Mattson said the idea to add commercial sponsors can be credited to Johnson. She said they now provide opportunities for their grills to be sponsored by a business and put advertisements on place mats, which in turn helps them raise more funds.
Johnson said advertising on mats wasn’t his idea, although it had been changed to make more room for ads. He said he can take credit for the successful grill sponsorship and that the grills are an iconic part of the event.
“We put up some large posterboards that advertise our sponsor, and they’re mounted nearby to the grills, and that’s provided a nice source of revenue for us as well,” Johnson said.
Johnson also said he can recall the earlier days of the pancake feed and remembers how popular it used to be.
“Even when I moved to Eau Claire in 1975, we heard about the pancake feed immediately, so it used to draw very large crowds because, in those days, maybe there wasn’t as much competition in events and things to go to,” Johnson said. “And I wasn’t a member at the time, but I was told we had crowds of up to 3,000 people or more.”
Proceeds from this event go toward the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp at the Chippewa Valley Museum.
The Kiwanis Club of Eau Claire is celebrating its 106th anniversary this year, and Mattson said it is one of three clubs in the area that raises funds for the camp.
Additionally, the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp has been around almost as long, having been established by the Kiwanis Club in 1934 according to the Visit Eau Claire Website.
They’ve raised and utilized significant funds for the camp over the years, such as raising $175,000 for camp relocation and repairs in 1981.
They also raised over $250,000 in 1988 to build the “Henry O’ Strand” Visitor/Interpretive Center and raised even more money later on for a visitor center and equipment shed renovations.
Later in 2018 to 2019, they raised $130,000 to renovate the equipment shed.
The official Kiwanis International website reads, “When Kiwanis club members serve kids, they support the Kiwanis cause: health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development.”
Mattson said that Kiwanis is widespread internationally as well as on campus, where she serves as the current Kiwanis advisor for the UW-Eau Claire Circle K club.
“Our focus is on serving the children of the world,” Mattson said. “It doesn’t mean we don’t go and serve at the community table … Mainly, when we are generating funds, like at the pancake feed, it’s for our youth programs.”
The Kiwanis Club of Eau Claire has hosted several events to benefit children in the community and generate funds for children’s programs.
Some of the programs they’ve volunteered their time for during the 2024-2025 season have been sponsored youth service clubs, Adopt-a-Highway, Folk Arts Festival and more.
Additionally, they have helped fund programs such as Literacy Book Donations, Cancer Care Bags, Camp Wawbeek and numerous others.
In one of their most recent events, they teamed with the Eau Claire Police Department at the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire to read to kids and distribute free books.
Mattson said the club has a close relationship with the police force and often teams up with Officer Ben Hundt to host Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids events.
Mattson said that Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids will also be volunteering and participating in the upcoming Paul Bunyan Flapjack Feed.
Curtin can be reached at [email protected].
