People enjoy pancakes at Sertoma Pancake Day

Each year thousands of people from around the area congregate at Secrest Auditorium for the annual Sertoma Pancake Day.

"I feel like it’s kinda like a tradition in Zanesville," Evan Smith said.

He declares it’s Pancake Day, and it’s a tradition that’s uniquely Zanesville. Sertoma member and Muskingum County Commissioner Jerry Lavy agreed.

"You have to eat pancakes on Pancake Day that’s right, absolutely," said Lavy.

Each year on the third Wednesday in November people head to Secrest Auditorium for the annual Sertoma Pancake Day. And starting at 6:00 in the morning people pack the basement of Secrest to get their own fill of pancakes.

We spoke with Smith and his friend Antonio Sullivan while they ate their second plate of pancakes. They competed today to eat more than the other, and just the same they fought over each other’s words while we spoke to them.

"It was just, like I said I look at it kinda like pancake day," Smith said and Sullivan interrupted, "Yeah, it’s pancake day, so why not come." Smith jumped back in to say, "It’s almost like a holiday in a way. It’s almost you have to eat pancakes today." 2:41

Smith explained why he and his friends attended pancake day this afternoon.

"We just came down. You’re not a Zanesvillian if you’re not at pancake day today," Smith said.

One other Zanesville resident who did not wish to appear on camera joked that his wife has retired from the kitchen, so this is his day to get pancakes. But eating pancakes is only one of the reasons to attend Pancake Day. Lavy said it’s a time to enjoy good company.

"It’s always good. It’s a good community turnout. People come down to see people they only see once a year, just like going to the Muskingum County Fair," Lavy said. "You go there to see people you see once a year or whatever. It’s a community thing."

Sertoma donates all of the profits from Wednesday to various charities around the Zanesville area.