“Bring your appetite.”
That’s Rick Hugh’s message to fair-goers coming down for the pancake breakfast at the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair on Sunday morning, May 18.
Visitors can get into the Fairgrounds for free that morning for a donation to the Cloverdale Rodeo Youth Initiative Foundation (CRYIF).
Hugh is the 1st vice-president of the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association, and past chair of CRYIF. He said fair-goers who attend the foundation’s pancake breakfast get good food and get to support a good cause at the same time.
“The pancake breakfast serves as an important fundraiser as it generates scholarship funds,” said Hugh. "A lot of people come to the pancake breakfast and then carry on to Cowboy Church after that." (Cowboy Church begins at 10 a.m.)
Entrance to the pancake breakfast runs from 9 - 9:45 a.m. The breakfast wraps at 10:30 a.m.
Hugh said the suggested donation minimum is $5. The money is used by CRYIF for scholarships and funding of other community service endeavours in the Lower Fraser Valley area.
He added this year they are taking a greater focus on those non-scholarship initiatives. Something they've done in the past, but got away from through COVID.
"Our number one mandate is to provide scholarship funds, but we're looking again to assist other community organizations that benefit families and youth."
Hugh noted CRYIF is also partnering with the Cloverdale Community Kitchen (CCK) this year on a pair of initiatives at rodeo to help raise money for CCK's outreach services.
"A lot of the proceeds from beverage container returns will go to CCK," he said. "Roll-A-Rama is another one. The big, sort of, re-creation of the Stardust roller rink days has free skates for a donation. All donations for Roll-A-Rama again are going to CCK."
Hugh said they'll have their regular pancake turners back for the breakfast with Turkey Kielesinski, Surrey city counsellor Mike Bose, and others flipping flapjacks for charity.
He said the location of the pancake breakfast has been moved for 2025. This year it will be in the Lasso Lounge, which will be located at the east side of the rec. centre parking lot, just east of the food court area.
Hugh said longtime supporter Save-On-Foods is once again sponsoring the breakfast.
Since the inception of CRYIF several years ago, the Foundation has provided more than $80,000 in scholarship money to local high school students as well as financial support to youth-focused programs in the Lower Mainland.
Two examples of programs CRYIF supports are “You Wear It Well,” which provides graduation wear to high school students who face financial challenges and “Hold High The Torch,” a project developed at École Salish Secondary School to recognize veterans for their service to Canada.
At its heart, Hugh noted, the breakfast is a fundraiser.
“The pancake breakfast has been a mainstay of the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair for a number of years,” he explained. “It began as a way to involve our youth volunteers in one more way to give back to the community.”
For more info on the Cloverdale Rodeo Youth Initiative Foundation, visit cloverdalerodeofoundation.com.
For more info on the pancake breakfast, visit cloverdalerodeo.com.
