By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Families and friends flocked to the Newman Elementary School in Needham on Saturday, November 4th, as the Rotary Club held their annual pancake breakfast. On the menu were fluffy pancakes with savory sausages immersed in golden-delicious maple syrup. There were also some fun games for kiddos to enjoy, as well as a 50/50 raffle.
The elementary school cafeteria was packed with friendly faces, all enjoying their incredible breakfast. Placemats were set up on each table and included the different businesses sponsoring the event. This gathering created a great opportunity to talk with your neighbors and just enjoy each other's company.
When all the tummies were full of pancakes and sausages, it was time to play some carnival type games that were lined up on the side of the cafeteria. Some of these games included a version of Plinko, Football Toss, Pork Chop Speedway, Hockey Shoot, Potty Pitch, and more. The smiles when playing these different contests were utterly endless and many of the little ones just wanted to keep on playing more and more.
Running this very popular event was an abundance of members from the Rotary Club. From handing out tickets for the games, to serving everyone breakfast, it was all hands on deck to keep the show running smoothly.
President of the Rotary Club, Don DeVeuve, was seen mingling with guests, making sure everyone was enjoying their time there. When speaking with him about this annual affair, he stated, “This event is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. These placemats include friends within the community who want to advertise to people. We sell tickets at the door for $5, kids four and under eat for free. I think ever since the pandemic, people have been eager to get reimmersed in events like this. We did not do this for two years during the pandemic and then it was a little difficult to get it back going again. We unfortunately had not thought to do it early enough and the high school no longer had our date available to do the breakfast. We found Newman Elementary and put all of our plans together so that we could do it here instead. Now we are able to go back to the heritage date which is the first weekend of November. So if you noticed, we advertised all around town with signs that did not have a specific date on it, that way we can be green and reuse them year after year since it will always be on the first weekend of November going forward.”
As an added bonus, Needham firefighters and police officers were both on site, showing the children their trucks, cars, uniforms, safety tips, and more. Police officers even brought two very famous Needham police dogs, Ghost and Rocket. Everyone was able to give plenty of love to each pup, and they both certainly loved getting all the attention.
It was easy to see just how much the Needham community thoroughly enjoyed this pancake breakfast event. Thrilled that it has returned yet again, many look forward to going to it this same time next year!
