XENIA — A popular event that drew hundreds to the Greene County Fairgrounds has been cancelled.
The Xenia Rotary Club announced Tuesday that the annual Rotary Pancake Day, held the first Wednesday of April, has been cancelled. The event has been a Xenia staple for more than 65 years, with hundreds of thousands of people having enjoyed pancakes and fellowship over its duration.
“The event was a labor of love for many Rotarians,” said club president Steve Brodsky. “Each year, it took many of hours of planning and coordination prior to the event, along with seeking support from businesses, such as Bob Evans Farms, to pull it off. In addition, the event really began the night before the event to prepare for the day, serve those in attendance throughout the day of the event, and then shut down and clean up afterwards.”
Like many other service organizations, the Xenia Rotary Club has seen its membership decline over the past decade, and even more so during the pandemic years, according to a release from the club. Not only did club membership decline, but attendance for Rotary Pancake Day severely declined. For many years, the event saw the crowd lines during the day wind out through the parking lot at Assembly Hall, but that has diminished over time, particularly during the pandemic, the release said.
The Rotary Club also cited the fact that many Rotarians also have full time jobs, making it “increasingly difficult to secure the number of volunteers needed to set up, work, clean up, and tear down the event,” The abundance of other available pancake breakfasts and similar events held throughout the county has also made it difficult to maintain attendance at Rotary Pancake Day, according to the release.
“This is not a decision that was made lightly,” Brodsky said. “The entire club, after a great deal of discussion, decided this particular community event had run its course, and it was time to focus our energies on something different.”
The Xenia Rotary Pancake Day was a small fund-raiser (by donation) for the club, but overall, it was also a good-will event for the community. As Rotarians, the club thrives on “Service Above Self,” so they have decided to focus their efforts on the Annual Kevin Sonnycalb Memorial Fireworks Festival, a much larger event, held the first Friday in July at Shawnee Park in Xenia.
The Xenia Rotary Fireworks Committee is currently working on plans for this year’s festival and hopes it will be bigger and better than ever. Proceeds from the Festival support the following year’s event. Club members are also planning a fund-raiser to be held during the festival which will provide additional financial support the club and its many community projects.
