65th Annual Pancake Day Festivities Kick Off Saturday

Four days of Pancake Day festivities will get under way Saturday with pancake flipping, eating, and cooking contests at the Seward County Event Center, a Pancake Chase race Saturday afternoon, and the Christian Artist Showcase featuring Andrew Peterson Saturday night at First Southern Baptist Church.

Saturday Morning: Eating, Flipping, Cooking (Seward County Event Center)
The eating and flipping contest winners will receive cash prizes and there is no entry fee. Registration for these contests begins at 9 a.m. Saturday. The flipping and eating contests will begin at 10 a.m. The winner in the flipping contest is the person who can flip a flapjack the most times in a three-minute period. (Division I flips for a shorter time.) This contest is open to all ages, with contestants flipping in three separate age divisions (I: 7 years and under; II: 8-13 years; and III: 14 years and older).
The pancake eating contest, set to begin immediately after the flipping contest is over, requires entrants to compete to see who can completely consume a set number of pancakes in the shortest amount of time.
The eating contest features the same three age divisions as the flipping contest.
The flapjacks will be the same size for everyone, about five inches in diameter. Division I contestants will be required to eat one pancake, division II pancake lovers will consume three flapjacks each, and those aged 14 and older will be hurrying to down five pancakes each. There is no entry fee for either contest.
The annual Pancake Day cooking and recipe contest, set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, is open to anyone age 12 or older living within a 70-mile radius of Liberal. (Dishes must be checked in at the Event Center between 9:45-10:15 a.m.) Deadline to enter the cooking contest is noon Friday. The public is invited to attend and to sample the dishes after winners are announced.

Saturday Afternoon: Pancake Chase (Hall of Fame)
Can’t get enough of the races? A Pancake Chase is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, sponsored by the Liberal Parks and Recreation Department. The Pancake Chase is a 5K and 1-mile walk/run prediction. Registration will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Hall of Fame, 318 N. Lincoln Ave. The race will start at 2 p.m. followed by a 1mile walk/run prediction. Advance registration is encouraged. For more information, call the recreation office at 626-0133.

Saturday Evening: Christian Artist Showcase with Andrew Peterson (First Southern Baptist Church)
Saturday will wrap up with a live concert by critically acclaimed performing artist Andrew Peterson. Peterson’s most recent album, Light for the Lost Boy, was named by USA Today critic Brian Mansfield as one of his top 10 favorite albums of 2012 . Light for the Lost Boy was also named the number five album for 2012 by Christianity Today.
The concert is slated for 7 p.m. at First Southern Baptist Church, 621 N. Western, in Liberal. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased online through the Pancake Day website: www.pancakeday.net. Groups of 10 or more can buy advance tickets for $7 each. All seating is general admission. For more information, call 620-624-6423 or 620-624-0186.

Pancake Day merchandise
Pancake Day merchandise, as well as tickets for the Christian Artist Showcase and Monday’s talent show, will be for sale at the Event Center from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and from noon-5 p.m. Sunday.