By Clara Glendale | Beacon unleavened bread beat

An estimated 252 people attended the 102nd nearly-annual Pancake Extravaganza Saturday at the Big VFW Hall in uptown Bass Lake, smashing the previous record by nearly 1 percent, according to a different set of estimates.

“We’ve been overwhelmed all day,” said pancake chef and event organizer Flip “Flap” Jack. “It’s just been astonishing. I’m officially astonished.”

Jack flashed a smile as he jumped between the griddle and the farm-to-table sausage grinding machine. Hogs were lined up around the pen to donate themselves to the cause, as were several strains of locally grown gluten-free wheat.

The extravaganza raised more than $252 for the Blows & Beats drum and bugle corps, which was this year’s target charity.

“Without this donation, we would never have enough to persuade the corps to withdraw from the Memorial Day parade,” said parade marshal Lt. Dan Marshal. “They scare the horses.”

Also new this year was the syrup recycling station, where gallons of the unused condiment were scraped from plates to be re-unused again by hungry flapjackers.

“We saved untold millions of maple trees from certain tapping,” said  Jeannie Bisquick. “Well, at least several were left untapped.”