Newtown residents enjoyed a morning of holiday cheer, special performances, and delicious pancakes at Newtown Rotary Club’s 65th Annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, December 6.

The all-you-can-eat event is a long-standing holiday tradition where families across town can get together and bond over breakfast.

As has been the case for the past several years, people gathered in Edmond Town Hall’s Alexandria Room. After getting their tickets, guests settled at one of the room’s many tables draped in yellow table runners. They then excitedly lined up by the kitchen area, where Newtown Rotary members filled their plates with pancakes and sausage.

A few local Girl Scouts helped the Rotarians, with some of them serving maple syrup and apple sauce after people got their pancakes.

Off to the side of the Alexandria Room, guests could round off their meal with water, coffee, or orange juice.

As people ate, they were treated to performances from Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet & Voice, Lathrop School of Dance, and Newtown High School a cappella singing groups Acouschics and XY-Chromotones.

Guests could also enter a 50/50 raffle or buy cotton candy, maple syrup, and maple candied bacon at one of the event’s two entry tables. In between those was a table raising money for Leaps of Faith (LOF) Adaptive Skiers, a local non-profit organization that brings recreational and competitive water and snow skiing to children, adults, and veterans with disabilities. Newtown High School Senior Claire DiNoto was there with a raffle basket, hoping to raise enough money for the non-profit to get a jet ski dock.

Of course, a special jolly guest came to visit parents and children alike — the one and only Santa Claus, joined by one of his many elves. Together, they stopped from table to table, passing children candy canes and taking photos with them. Every time they posed for a photo, they had big smiles on their faces.

For the Rotarians who run the pancake breakfast, the event is just one example of their motto, “service above self.”

Newtown Rotary President Jen Chaudhary said it was incredible seeing so many people come together.

This was her first time running Newtown Rotary’s annual pancake breakfast since taking presidency of the group earlier this July.

Chaudhary said after so many years of Newtown Rotary holding the event, it “runs like clockwork.”

“It’s really rewarding for all of us,” Chaudhary said. “Everyone seems to know their jobs, everything gets done, and we’re able to give back to the community.”

For the two years she has been with Newtown Rotary, Chaudhary has stayed involved because she loves being able to support others in town.

“There’s nothing like the rewards you get from giving back to the community and participating in fundraisers that help those that need it,” Chaudhary explained.

Alex Villamil, a longtime member of Newtown Rotary, called the pancake breakfast his “most favorite event of the year.”

He added, “It’s just nice to kick off the holidays and a part of the festivities. It’s fun for the kids and for the families. It’s just a really, really good event.”

Out in the kitchen, Newtown Rotary member Pat Caruso cooked the sausage while fellow member Dan Rosenthal cooked the pancakes. Caruso jovially called himself “the sausage king” and Rosenthal “the mix master.”

The one serving pancakes and sausage to guests was none other than Rotarian Dan Honan, who is in his 38th year of being involved with Newtown Rotary. What has kept Honan going over the decades, he said, has been the people.

“There’s a real sense of fellowship in all the work that we do, and this is no different,” Honan said.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.