No pancakes at the band’s Pancake Dinner
Feb. 7 concert will be held in the auditorium
Practicing for the upcoming concert, senior Cameron Lee plays the saxophone in the auditioned Jazz Ensemble class. “A lot of performances have been canceled because of the pandemic,” Lee said. “This year has been a little bit better, we don’t need to leave the room and we are fortunate to take our masks off to play our instruments.”
All SM North band classes are playing at the Feb. 7 Pancake Dinner. Unlike previous years, the Pancake Dinner will run a little differently according to Band Director Chad Reed.
“Everything will be in the auditorium this year because we’re not serving food,” Reed said. “I’m not sure why we even called it the pancake dinner, other than just so we’re not being confused.”
It wasn’t always hosted in this fashion. In previous years, parents and students could head to the cafeteria for chili or pancakes while listening to the Jazz Bands. After that concluded, the concert was moved to the auditorium for the concert bands and the 6th-grade honor band.
COVID-19 regulations forced the band program to adapt in order to keep performing. 2021 and 2022 are the first time that food has not been served at the Pancake Dinner as well as the 6th grade honor band won’t be performing this year.
“It’s been difficult adapting to not being able to do some of the things that I signed up for,” senior Cameron Lee said. “More recently, we have been able to bring back some of the performances. We still haven’t been able to add back the food aspects to things like the Pancake Dinner, but it’s been getting better”
But even though there will be no food involved in the concert this year, Reed said he has never been able to get a bite to eat at any previous concert.
“It’s been going on since the early ’90s at the very least,” Reed said. “I’ve been here 22 years. When it was the Chili Supper, I never got one bowl of chili because I’ve always been working. So 20 years we served chili and I’ve never had a bite.”
