Pancake breakfast, Egg Hunt slated for Sat. April 3

It’s that time of year again when local firefighters cook hundreds of pancakes for the community and the county’s recreation department hides thousands of pastel-colored eggs for the annual Spring Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast at the Fallbrook Community Center, 341 Heald Lane.

For more than 20 years, the Fallbrook Firefighters Association has teamed with the county to provide a fun-filled family day that takes place the day before Easter Sunday.

Saturday, April 3, breakfast will be served beginning at 7:30 a.m. for the cost of $4 per adult and $2 per child. Sausage and drinks are included with pancakes. Afterward, children are divided into three age groups for the hunt that starts at 10:30 a.m. directly behind the center at La Paloma Elementary School, 300 Heald Lane.

Gordon Stone, director of the Fallbrook Community Center, said that a balloon stomp, sack races, relay races and an egg toss are some of the games planned for this year’s event. He said local businesses and non-profit organizations have donated items and time, and about 2,000 plastic eggs will be stuffed and hidden.

“Some eggs have a slip that says you’ve won an Easter basket,” he said.

Major Market donated the pre-made baskets, which include some for girls and some for boys.

Stone said the rest of the eggs will be filled with small toy prizes, which are being assembled ahead of time with the help of National Charity League.

Prizes for winners of the games are being given away by businesses such as Fresh & Easy, Vince’s Pizza and Hometown Buffet.

Ben Lian is a firefighter with the North County Fire Protection District and member of the Fallbrook Firefighters Association who is helping organize the breakfast.

He said they are getting the necessary shopping done and everything is lined up for the event.

“Getting the guys there is the biggest thing,” he said. Since the firefighters don’t work a typical Monday-through-Friday schedule, on any given day one-third of the staff are on duty, Lian said.

“We love helping out the community,” he said. Local explorers, who volunteer with the fire department and range in age from 15 to 21 years, will also be participating at the event.

Other local agencies involved are the Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center, Inland Hills Community Church, Fallbrook Village Rotary Club, the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District and North County Welding. For more information, contact the Community Center at (760) 728-1671.

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