International Pancake Day Hall of Fame

Every Shrove Tuesday since 1950

Pancake Day is always on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Some people refer to it as “Fat Tuesday.”

International Tradition…

Liberal has held a friendly competition with Olney, England over 70 years. International Pancake Day, A tradition since 1950, is always on Strove (Fat Tuesday). The women of Liberal and Olney square off in a fun, fast-paced race to the finish line carrying skillets with pancakes inside. The International Pancake Day Hall of Fame sits right on the finish line of the race and offers visitors a glimpse of the rich history of the event.

International Pancake Day History

Pancake Day is always on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Some people refer to it as “Fat Tuesday.”

In Old England it was customary for the housewives to drop whatever they were doing and hurry to the church at the tolling of the bell to be “shriven” of their sins.

In 1445, a housewife in Olney, England, started making her pancakes rather late. They were not quite finished when the church bell rang. Not wishing to leave her pancakes to burn, she hurried to the church carrying her griddle and the pancake with her.

In Liberal, the event started in 1950 when R.J. Leete of the Liberal Jaycees issued a challenge to Reverend Ronald Collins, Vicar of Olney, to make it an international event with the two towns having a friendly competition to see who could run the 415 yard course the fastest.

The International Race is run at 11:55 a.m. in both communities and is open only to adult women who perform “housewifely” duties.

Runners are still required to wear a skirt, headscarf and apron and run while carrying a skillet and pancake. The pancake must be flipped at the start and the finish to show it is still there.

This one of a kind festival starts with, of course, a pancake breakfast, followed by children’s, and men’s race before the main event. A Shriving Service, live web chat with England and a parade round out the days happenings..

Saturday

Pancake Chase 5K Run

Eating & Flipping Contests

Monday

Grand Marshall’s Reception

Tuesday

Pancake Breakfast

Breakfast Program

Youth Races

Mascot Race

Men’s Pacer Race

International Pancake Day Race

Shriving Service

Live Video Conference Call with Olney England

Pancake Day Parade

The “Hall of Fame” started as a dream project in the late 1900’s and through much hard work, became a reality in 2004-05. While it is still in progress, with many new improvements on the drawing board, the Hall of Fame houses much memorabilia about Pancake Day dating back to the first year of 1950 to current. The building also serves as the Corporate Headquarters for International Pancake Day of Liberal, Inc. and is “command central” for our annual event each Shrove Tuesday.

Our goal is to preserve a vital part of Liberal’s history over the past 66 years and to be able to share that with our local and regional community. We also are striving to develop a facility that can be enjoyed by civic and community groups for gathering as well as an educational venue for our elementary school students.

The International Pancake Day Hall of Fame, 318 N. Lincoln, sits at the finish line of the International Race and offers visitors a glimpse of the rich history of the event.

The ground floor includes displays of items from past events as well as items given to Liberal by Olney through the years. Official Pancake Day merchandise is also for sale.

The second floor includes an area to watch videos of past races and look at scrapbooks put together through the years, in addition to an office and board room.

While the Hall of Fame is not open all the time, those interested in touring or having a meeting at the Hall of Fame may call the Pancake Day Hall of Fame at 620-624-6423 to arrange a tour.