Donald
Teuma-Castelletti
LADYSMITH Feb. 11, 2018
Visitors to the Thorne Community Recreation Association on Sunday got to start their pancake feast early this year, as the Anglican church brought back a community event from nearly a decade ago.
In celebration of Shrove Tuesday, the Anglican Parish of Renfrew-Pontiac put on the pancake brunch after the meal returned last year, following an absence since 2011.
“[The brunch] was on till 2011, then we stopped for a few years,” said Reverend Carol Hotte, associate incumbent of the new area Anglican Parish of Renfrew-Pontiac. “Then we brought it back last year.”
Serving up pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and all the trimmings, Hotte said the brunch was seeing a much better turnout this year than last, with the hope that they’ll continue to see it grow. Hoping to draw more people in this year, organizers adjusted the end time to help benefit guests travelling from further away.

“We moved the time to end at 2 p.m., because we wanted to give others a chance to come out,” said Hotte.
Also in their benefit this year was the lack of a community meal on Friday night. Hotte explained that in 2017 the hall had seen a large community gathering already that weekend and believes this may have been enough of a weekend outing for some.
With the lack of guests last year, organizers from the St. George’s Anglican Church committee had brought in just a bit too much food, estimating they over did it by about 20 per cent. They had prepared for the size of the previous crowds seen at the breakfast prior to 2011, but didn’t get the same turnout.
“We had kept a record of what we went through in previous years and adjusted accordingly,” said David Schock, a member of the church committee, on how they tried to prepare.
Along with his wife, Joyce, the couple were happy to say they expected to sell out of all the food being prepared for Sunday’s brunch. Seeing a much bigger crowd this year, the Schocks and 12 other volunteers were kept plenty busy in the kitchen as guests dined and stuck around for chit chat after they had their fill.
“We’re hoping it’ll become a regular community event,” said Hotte. “That people will put it on their calendar, knowing it’s on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday at the TCRA.”