It wasn’t always a Rotary event, but Pancake Day and Rotary have become synonymous since 2018.
Pancake Day is a community event that most native Carlsbad community members have experienced. And, for Antiporda, Pancake Day resonates as a family tradition as well. He remembers the event as a child as time spent with his dad. The rest of his family chose to sleep in and relax on the Saturday morning of Pancake Day (always held the Saturday before the Super Bowl), but Mike and his dad did not. They would venture out to the Civic Center where the event was held in the past and savor the taste of fluffy pancakes hot off the griddle and drenched in maple syrup. Pancake Day is the time to catch up with family members, friends, and community members from all across the city. The warm, inviting atmosphere which buzzes with activity is the spirit of Pancake Day that the Carlsbad Rotary Club has worked tirelessly to continue.
In 2017, Kiwanis, while preparing to disband their local chapter, began searching for a new organization to take on the beloved event. The Kiwanis Club passed the event to the Carlsbad Rotary Club and the prospect spoke directly to Antiporda’s heart. He became the Pancake Committee Chair after expressing his love for the community event and the importance of its continued success. With a little Rotary spirit and knowhow, Antiporda and the Pancake Committee trained with several Kiwanis Club members to learn how to make the event work. In 2018, the Rotary Pancake Day was launched. Attendance at the event jumped to more than 1,300 people. The Carlsbad High School Cafeteria now serves as the venue for this large event, and XTO Energy has partnered with Rotary as the event’s title sponsor each year.
This year, after a pause in the festivities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pancake Committee hoped for an outstanding return of this community tradition. A drive-through option was added for folks to pick up a stack of pancakes on the go! Whether you took part in-person or by drive-through in 2022, Focus hopes your Pancake Day was a fabulous one!
Rotary Officers
- President – Khush Ghadiali
- President-elect – Ekta Bhakta Patel
- Vice President – Karla Niemeier
- Secretary – Veronica Hernandez
- Executive Treasurer – Pearlene Estrada
- Sargent-at-Arms – Ben Freston
Pancake Day Comittee
- Mike Antiporda
- Jill Barkley
- Ekta Bhakta Patel
- Suzanne Carlsen
- Robbie Chacon
- Kat Davis
- Christy Dickerson
- Pearlene Estrada
- Ben Freston
- Juanita Garcia
- Khush Ghadiali
- KK Gonzales
- Veronica Hernandez
- Chad Ingram
- Aaron Irving
- Dianne Joop
- Karla Niemeier
- Jessica Onsurez
- Jason Shirley
- Tina Tiffany
- Karla Volpi
- Emily Wirth
- Mark Walterscheid
- Lisa Walterscheid
- Alan Wood
Griddle Cakes for the Home
Looking for a pancake recipe that won’t feed a crowd? Look no further! Here’s a classic griddle cake recipe for breakfast at home.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Sift the dry ingredients together in a very large bowl or container: the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- Make a depression in the mix of dry ingredients with a spoon for the wet ingredients to sit in the center. Pour the wet ingredients, milk, egg, and melted butter, into the depression and mix all ingredients into a smooth batter.
- Oil and heat the griddle to middle heat approximately 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pour a quarter cup of the batter on the griddle to form a griddle cake.
- Griddle cakes are cooked when they are golden brown on both sides and fluffy.
In a pan, you’ll cook up a cake or two at a time, but on a griddle there’s far more space to cook up to 10 or 12 at a time depending on the size of the hot plate. A pancake becomes a griddle cake if you cook it on a griddle rather than a pan.
