A Community Comes Together Over Pancakes

There are few things that can bring a community together like pancakes and pajamas. That’s exactly what happened Friday evening when Vine Hill Elementary hosted a family fun night at the Scotts Valley Community Center.

“Family fun night is the only non-fundraising event we do every year," said Marci-Beth Maple of the Vine Hill Parent Teacher Association. "It’s exciting for us, because it’s a great community builder.”

She, along with representatives from the Scotts Valley Fire District and the Scotts Valley Police Department, partnered to provide a pancake and sausage dinner designed to unite the families of Vine Hill and the service members of the Scotts Valley community.

“This is just a fun thing, not a fundraiser,” said Chris Ronzano, an engineer and medic with the Scotts Valley Fire District, who also helped coordinate the event. “We’re all about contributing to the community and we’re out here to support our schools. We do it monetarily and with our time. Tonight is about our time.”

Members of the police and fire departments were on hand to help kids and parents participate in traditional fire and rescue muster events. Typically used in competition between fire houses, these games of strength and strategy were fun for everyone. Big kids, little kids and parents all participated in tug of war, a bucket brigade and a sack race. There was even a water truck with fire hoses hooked up for the kids to spray.

“We’re just here to help the kids have fun,” Ronzano said.

Their efforts paid off. Vine Hill students and their parents all enjoyed themselves as they feasted on pancakes and mingled with their neighbors.

Fifth-grader Luke Streller was there helping to serve up the goodies. The evening helped put him in the community spirit. “I like that everyone is coming and I get to do something that’s helping everyone else.”

And the pajamas? “It was pajama day at Vine Hill, so the gimmick was to wear your pajamas to school and keep them on and have pancakes for dinner,” Maple said.  

First-grader Ryder Maple liked the event, saying, “We get to eat pancakes and play with the firefighters.” 

This was the second of three family fun nights that Vine Hill hosts every year. Area businesses got involved to make it a true community affair. Surf City Coffee helped out with coffee donations. The cooking was done at the Felton Bible Church, and the Scotts Valley Recreation Department donated the space.

Other family fun nights include an outdoor movie in the fall and an ice cream social in the spring.

With a larger-than-expected turnout, everyone seemed to be pleased with the results.

Vine Hill parent Christy Borkowski summed it up by saying, “It brings a community of people together.”