Annual Pancake Breakfast Held at Bay Laurel Elementary

The 2nd Annual Community Fun Day-Pancake Breakfast drew a large crowd to Bay Laurel Elementary on Sunday morning for free pancakes, live entertainment and the painting of a new school mural.

“It’s a chance for everyone to get together, have some free pancakes and do something for the community,” said Stephanie Williams, president of the school's Parent Faculty Association.

Serving up food and fun activities were numerous students, parents, faculty and other community members, including the principal of Bay Laurel Elementary, Susan Wachtel, who is now in her third year at the school.

“It’s what community is all about,” Wachtel said, smiling as she flipped a pancake on the griddle. “You work hard, you play hard.”

At her side, a parent of a student at the school demonstrated how to expertly toss a flapjack through the air to Andrew Furash, 15, who caught them in a tray which he placed on a table for guests. Now a student at Viewpoint, Furash attended Bay Laurel for grades one through five and said he was happy to be back and helping.

Two dozen other high school students also volunteered their time either by joining Bay Laurel students in painting a large mural on the hand ball court or by manning booths.

Meanwhile, fifth graders roamed the crowd with cold drinks and trays of baked goods for sale at a $1 apiece to benefit their school.

From breakfast to bake sales, the morning’s activities were a coordinative effort between elementary and high school students, said Williams.

“Lots of volunteers have worked the entire summer on the event,” Williams said. “Everything you see here was donated so that alone took a lot of time. It’s going beautifully, the event is obviously incredible and it took a lot of community service.”

The day’s celebrations also included a performance by the Calabasas High School cheerleading squad, a musical quartet from CHS, a visit from local firefighters and an energetic dance-along set by DJ Keith Alan, who was there to promote his new studio Time to Dance, which is set to open in the Oaks the week of September 5.

“It was phenomenal,” Alan said of the event. Many of his students are also Bay Laurel Elementary students and he said they were partly responsible for his upcoming venture. “The parents of the kids brought it to my attention that I should open a studio, so I did,” he said.   

Bringing the community together was the main goal of the Pancake Breakfast, according to the co-chair of the event, Amy Katz.

“It’s not a fundraiser, really, it’s a social event,” said Katz. “And we’ve had a great turnout this year.”