A longtime Jacksonville tradition will have a new look in a new home one week from now.
The 76th Annual Jacksonville Kiwanis Pancake and Sausage Day will be held at the Morgan County Fairgrounds this year. The non-profit service club was forced to find a new home for the event after fire severely damaged the McClelland Dining Hall in June of last year.
Event Co-Char Luke Worrell says McClelland was the event’s only home up until the fire, so the event will have a slightly different flow this year. “You know, we’re all creatures of habit, but it’s going to look a little bit different for the first time since the 50’s.
The current plan is the 4H Building, which is kind of right off Grand Avenue, that’s going to be our dining hall. That portion will look very similar to what people have kind of grown accustomed to at MacMurray.
We’re actually going to be doing all of our cooking right across the lane there at the Clover Cafe. So our product is going to take a short walk when it’s done and will go into a sort of staging area in the 4H Building, but that is going to be the bulk of the changes.”
The need to change venues is giving the club an option to expand one part of the event, as drive-through service will be offered without interruption for the entire day. In previous years, the drive-through was closed for portions of the day in order to not disrupt classes at MacMurray College or Routt High School.
Worrell says the move to the 4H Building also allows for more seating. In previous years during rush hours, overflow attendees waited in Annie-Merner Chappel for a fresh table to open.
He says along with the move to a new location, the fire caused some extra overhead expenses so the club is hopeful this year’s event is extra successful. “100 percent of what we raise in a normal year goes right back to children’s causes here in Morgan County.
Obviously this year we do have a little more upfront cost, and that is nothing to do with the fair, they are being incredibly generous. But unfortunately, with the fire we lost a few items that were stored on site. So we had to pony up a little bit more for some new stuff, so it’s very important that we try to replicate as close to possible what we typically have made.”
Tickets for the 76th Annual Jacksonville Kiwanis Pancake and Sausage Day are $8.00 ahead of time and $10.00 at the door the day of. You can purchase tickets from any Kiwanian as well as Heartland Bank, CNB Bank, Petefish, Skiles & Company Bank, The Farmers State Bank and Trust Company, or Hyvee.
Dine in and drive through service runs Monday, March 10th from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm at the 4H Building on the Morgan County Fairgrounds.
Drive through service patrons are asked to enter into the fairgrounds via the south-most Westgate Avenue entrance.