More than 1,000 people crowded into Lincoln Middle School to tuck in at the Kiwanis Club of Pullman’s 50th annual pancake breakfast Saturday morning.

The breakfast, served as a kick-off for the holiday season, started off a day of festivity that ended with the Pullman lighting ceremony later that afternoon.

Butch T. Cougar roamed the hallways of the school in his Santa outfit, waving at the hungry crowd in line for food. Students from the high school and middle school jazz bands, choir and orchestra played popular Christmas tunes to complement the holiday theme.

Because it was the 50th birthday of the Kiwanis pancake breakfast, club members anticipated a larger crowd of visitors. The usual guest count has been around 1,000 people, but the significance of this year seemed to have drawn in more supporters.

“I think it’s bigger than it’s been before,” said Helen Stiller, a breakfast attendee. “It always moves smoothly, and that’s amazing.” Kiwanis club members were able to recognize the faces of many Pullman residents who have created a tradition of attending the pancake breakfast every year, member Sandra Woodrow said.

“You see familiar faces that come every year,” she said. “For $5, you couldn’t go to Denny’s and get that good of a breakfast.” The breakfast drew in residents from all around the Pullman community.

“Going from a large area to Pullman, I love the small-town feel of it,” said Jeri Harris, Kiwanis club member and chairwoman of the auction. “It is nice to be able to say 'hi’ to the mayor, ‘hi’ to the chief of police, and they’re not too busy to be human beings.” The pancake breakfast also drew in people because of the charities that Kiwanis supports. As one of the major yearly fundraisers, the pancake breakfast brings in funds for the club to divide among different programs in the community.

“We’ve had a great turnout, and this breakfast is one of our signature events, so it’s something that we believe invites the community in to experience something really unique and special,” said Sarah Hanks, Kiwanis Club of Pullman president. “But also, they know that they’re able to reinvest in their community, reinvest in the programs and services that make Pullman so unique and the experience for families so valuable.” This year, a portion of the funds raised will go to Pullman Child Welfare for their Christmas sharing tree program, while another portion will go toward the creation of a handicap accessible park and the remaining funds will go to support either the Kiwanis-sponsored youth programs or other projects taking place later in the year, she said.