Mount Lookout Grange in Mancos will host a pancake breakfast in honor of Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 15 from 8 to 10 a.m.
The breakfast has become an annual tradition for the town after it was started by AmeriCorps volunteers in 2009. The Grange has hosted it for several years, and Grange member Patricia Burk said it usually draws between 100 to 120 people. The event will be free and open to the public, although Burk said donations will be accepted to cover the cost of food and supplies.
Grange members and other volunteers will begin preparing food and redecorating the dining hall Sunday night, after the monthly community dinner hosted there for Mancos residents. They plan to put up a display about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., which will include photography by Mancos residents who participated in his civil rights movement.
“It’s to raise awareness of where we’ve been as a country,” Burk said. “This event has always been successful. It seems to have its own momentum.”
She said there has never been a shortage of volunteers willing to help serve at the breakfast.
The meal will feature local, organically grown food, according to a news release, and Burk said attendees will be able to see a variety of educational materials about the holiday. Some students from Mancos Elementary School will also attend with their teachers, she said.
Volunteers are needed for the breakfast for serving from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and cleanup from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Contact Patricia Burke at p_a_burk@msn.com or Jordan Lang at jordan.ann.lang@gmail.com to volunteer.