Iowa Town Turns Pancake Paradise for World Record This Saturday

The flapjacks will be flipping and flying in Centerville, Iowa this Saturday, September 25 as the town attempts to set a unique world record. Back in June, the town of Blue Springs, Missouri set a record for 13,000 pancakes served and Centerville will try to double that.

Hy-Vee, who helped Blue Springs set the record, is donating 2, 400 pounds of pancake mix to help Centerville in its quest. Festivities will get underway Saturday at 9 a.m. and pancakes will be served through 1 p.m. at the Centerville town square.

While they want to reach the 26,000 threshold, Centerville Tourism Director Delaney Evers is making a conservative estimate, saying realistically that 20,000 to 21,000 pancakes will likely be served. The pancakes will be free, if that piques anyone's interest and taste buds to make the trip and help. 2 and a half hours from Cedar Rapids for a possibly historic serving of pancakes.

Why this Saturday? According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, It's Centerville's annual Pancake Day celebration, a tradition that started back in 1948 as a way for manufacturers around Centerville, including a Pillsbury facility, to show appreciation for their employees.

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On a normal "Pancake Day" any given year, Centerville serves up to 18,000 pancakes. Couple the world record attempt with the return of the event after last year off due to the pandemic, it seems like they have a pretty good shot at hitting their goal this weekend.

100 volunteers will be offering their services to meet the strict standards set forth by the Guiness Book of World Records. Guinness mandates that each pancake be at least 5 inches in diameter, but no more than 1 centimeter in thickness, and yes, there will be representatives there to measure. Something tells me the thousands of flapjacks being made with love and history in mind while taste just as good, even if they don't "measure up" to world record specifications.