After the Lions Club announced that there would be no fish-a-ree this year, they shifted their attention to the pancake breakfast. The breakfast served some eggs, sausage, jalapeño poppers and of course, pancakes. 

“This is the first time in 48 years that the fish-a-ree has been canceled,” said Lions Club Vice President Steve Malone. “We’ve still seen a good turnout and things are still picking up,” he added. 

Malone also mentioned that he had been setting up this event since November. He made a point of how it would’ve been unsafe to have the fish-a-ree with the ice’s current state.  

It makes sense that it’s been an annual tradition with the amount of support they receive from their community. It’s apparent how impactful this time of year is to this group of people. The fish-a-ree has been around in Whitewater and southern Wisconsin since 1976. Until this year, it had been running for 47 consecutive years. It was canceled for the first time ever this year due to the unseasonably warm weather and early thaw. The event was canceled at the start of the month according to their Facebook page. Fortunately for them, their pancake breakfast had its own events. 

After canceling the fish-a-ree, the Lions club members have helped in any way they can to make the breakfast a success. At the breakfast, you could also bid on a bucket raffle. This raffle was a common entry for fishermen that were usually competing in the fish-a-ree. This year there were some changes made compared to years past. 

“We’ve added some more bucket raffles and an online auction,” said Lions Club member Sue Patnaude. “There’s already over a thousand dollars in the 50/50 raffle.” 

Patnaude also stated that she has been in the club for about 10 years. She claimed that the event had gone according to plan so far comparative to other years, with a few extra bucket raffles. She explained how other clubs were coming to this pancake breakfast and the friends she’s made through the club. The club had influenced many people to pay respects for this Whitewater Lions Club tradition.  

The Lions Club created an online auction that is still active until Feb. 18. Some of the items that are listed for auction are art, sporting goods, gift cards and other miscellaneous items. All of the proceeds for that would help support local charities and good causes. 

The Lions Club has been making generous donations and seeking to do right for the community. The pancake breakfast seemed to be a hit with the people as the line continued to grow as the morning passed. There was a lot of planning that went into this pancake

breakfast that allowed it to go along smoothly, even without the famous Fish-A-Ree.