It’s pancake time again, and members of Meridian’s Downtown Optimist Club are making preparations for the annual event that serves as the club’s major fund-raiser.

The Pancake Jubilee will be held March 28 from 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Temple Theatre. Last year, organizers said, they served between 8,000 and 12,000 pancakes and 5,000 sausage patties.

Tickets are on sale for $4.

Mark Scarborough, president of the Optimist Club, said he would like for representatives from the clubs and programs that receive money from Optimists to set up a display or distribute information.

“That way, people can actually see where the money for this is going and how it can benefit the youth in this area,” he said.

The club provides a scholarship to Meridian Community College and supports the following programs: Care Lodge, Shop With a Cop, the Crestview Baseball Program, Boy Scouts of America, Sandwedge Golf, the Junior Golf Tournament, the Optimist Golf program and the Salvation Army Angel Tree.

Scarborough said Care Lodge is the most recent addition to the club’s list of beneficiaries. But, he said, if this year’s pancake sales are down, the club will have to make cuts.

The club only supports programs or activities that are related to young people. The club’s motto is “Friends of Youth.”

Coordinators of the event are Paul Tarver and Jay Haynes. The Downtown Optimist Club has 35 members.

Tarver said the Pancake Jubilee has been around for at least 55 years, and it has become a Meridian institution. He said the jubilee is a great time to catch up and visit with friends.

A takeout line also will be available.

PANCAKE JUBILEE

The Meridian Downtown Optimist Club will host its annual Pancake Jubilee March 28 from 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Temple Theatre. For more information or to purchase tickets call (601) 483-4404 or visit www.dtoc.org.