Pancake Breakfast
Oakland offered up some free and practically free weekend events for folks this past Saturday and Sunday. The Fall Pancake Breakfast hosted by the Oakland Father’s Club was dishing them out early Saturday morning, and Sunday afternoon Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church held a mini-carnival.
The Oakland Father’s Club is part of the town’s Sport’s Association which helps run the Rec Stand, so the guys are pretty familiar with working the griddle. Fathers and the young volunteers were ready to go at 8am, and crowds were already starting to form by 8:30am. They were dishing them out till late in the morning, bordering on what might be called a pancake brunch, but this reporter prefers early morning breakfasts.
It’s easy to make this event a win-win-win-win-win-win event. Firstly, there is a peculiar joy in waking children up from their comfortable sleep. Perhaps brought on by the countless hours of sleep lost feeding, diapering, and worrying over them, there is an honest pleasure in rousing them from slumber when they get a bit older: Win #1. Then there is the option of being a good spouse and taking the kids on this outing solo. It’s an easy way to win brownie points by letting the better half sleep a little later or just have a few moments peace: Win #2. Pancakes, sausage, syrup and a smear of butter–all good, cheap and no cleanup: Wins #3,4,5. After breakfast, the kids can run in the playground. Win#6.
The Father’s Club gets a lot of help from the young volunteers who delivered plate after plate to the guests sitting inside or out. The Mother’s Club was also on hand selling sport swag outside the Danny D building. It all added an extra festive air to a big day that included team photos being taken for the soccer season which is just getting underway.
Even though you can still catch softball and baseball players working their skills, it’s football and soccer season now. The Journal will soon be reporting on the expansive programs that Oakland provides for kids of all ages through the Rec program.
Mini-Carnival
Saint Alban’s had their min-carnival on Sunday from 11am to 2pm. It’s a mini-carnival only because the only big name ride was a humongous slide brought in for the occasion, otherwise it had all the fixings of a full fledged carnival. Games, popcorn, and of course cotton candy were there. Fudgie the Clown was on hand with face painting that raised the art to a new level leaving participants with grand designs almost too nice to wash off.
There were an array of animals that made an appearance courtesy of Outragehisss…Pets. The exhibition of exotic animals which the children can see, touch and hold offered both excitement and education. Learning how different animals use Camouflage to protect themselves, the differences between reptiles and amphibians, and some short lessons in geography as animals from around the world were introduced.
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