Clubhouse

A hungry guests glances around the hall to catch the hubbub of activity that accompanies every Pancake Karnival.

Fargo pancake fame goes far

National Geographic and Top 1,000 Places make note of annual event

It’s no secret that Fargo, North Dakota, residents flip for flapjacks during the Kiwanis Club of Fargo’s annual Pancake Karnival. And if it ever was a secret, it isn’t anymore: The popular fundraiser was featured in a 2003 National Geographic magazine (photo / full article). And again this year in the recently published Top 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: In the USA and Canada by Patricia Schultz.

Fargo Kiwanian Matt Sullivan says that while the national media attention is an honor, it doesn’t seem to have boosted attendance—in part because the Pancake Karnival caters to local people. Many Fargoans already attend. The fact that it’s set in February—when Fargo temperatures can reach well below zero-Fahrenheit—might also be a factor.

Still, the average Karnival sees about 10,000 patrons, serves 30,000 pancakes, and nets $35,000 each year.

Author Schultz told The Forum newspaper she selected the Kiwanis event for her book because it was “so wonderfully, quintessentially Midwest/Great Plains.”

A few other North American must-sees keeping company with Fargo Kiwanians in Schultz’s book:

• The Grand Tetons
• Gettysburg
• The Talladega Superspeedway
• Alaska’s Denali wilderness
• The Ice Hotel in Québec