Free pancakes will once again be served at Bingemans as the Oktoberfest Family Breakfast returns on Saturday.
It’s the 41st year for the beloved event, which is a seasonal staple for many locals.
The free breakfast has changed hands and locations since its inception. The past several years, it’s been put on at Bingemans and is now being hosted by the Waterloo Regional Health Network Foundation (WRHNF).
“We have a lot of our team but also a lot of volunteers showing up bright and early at Bingemans,” said Ashley Howat, Vice-President of Strategic Initiatives with WRHNF, while on The Mike Farwell Show.
Howat said it’s a community collaboration to put on the free breakfast with support from this year’s presenting sponsor, TD, and the pancakes and syrup are supplied by Flanagan Foodservice Inc.
It isn’t just flapjacks that are being offered; the menu includes sausage and turkey bacon from Piller’s, Wellesley Apple Cider, and coffee and tea from Tim Hortons.
“It’s an incredible show of support from the community, so we’re really excited,” said Howat.
The food is prepared by culinary students at Conestoga College, and while it’s all free to enjoy, non-perishable food items and monetary donations will be collected.
The Oktoberfest Family Breakfast is happening Oct. 4 from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the big tent at Bingemans in Kitchener.
Another family-friendly tradition is still a couple of weeks out, as the K-W Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade is set for Monday, Oct. 13.
The festival announced on Wednesday that this year’s Grand Parade Marshal is Michael “Pinball” Clemons.
The Canadian football legend led the parade once before in 1992 and called it an “absolute honour” to be invited to do it again.
(Supplied photo from K-W Oktoberfest)
