SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – On this day, 388 years ago, Springfield was founded on May 14, 1636.
Dubbed ‘The City of Firsts’, due to the many innovations developed there, such as the first American dictionary, the first American gas-powered automobile, and the first machining lathe for interchangeable parts, according to Wikipedia.
Springfield is the third largest city in Massachusetts and is known for the birthplace of basketball and of Theodor Seuss Geisel, children’s author, and cartoonist known as “Dr. Seuss”. Domenic Sarno is the 54th mayor of the city, first elected in 2007, and has won re-election five times since.
In celebration of its birthday, the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast is being held on Saturday, May 18th from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Main Street in Springfield will be shut down from State Street to Bridge Street with tables and tents lining the street.
The community is invited to visit downtown Springfield for breakfast including pancakes, bacon, coffee, juice, and milk. Tickets are $3 and $1 for children under 12.
Preparing for the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast
- 500 gallons of batter from Performance Foodservice
- 200 pounds of butter from Cabot Creamery
- Bacon from Smithfield
- Hundreds of gallons of milk, juice, and cream from H. P. Hood
- Hundreds of gallons of coffee brewing from Sheraton Springfield
- Tents, more than 200 tables, and thousands of chairs from Michael’s Party Rentals
- Paper supplies from Baystate Health and Mansfield Paper Company
- 67,000 free tickets delivered by American Medical Response to area schools
Additional support is being provided by Costco, Elegant Affairs, MassMutual Center, and the Springfield Parking Authority. Volunteers will be helping cook, serve, sell tickets, and clean.
Entertainment
- Sci-Tech Band
- Libertas Academy Charter School
- Springfield Prep Charter School
- Mary Anne’s Studio of Dance
- Red Grass Ministries
- Martin Luther King Charter School
- Malik James
- Master Lee Taekwondo
Vanessa Ford, the founding director of the Springfield CommUnity Chorale, will sing Springfield’s “Pancake Song” along with St. Michael’s Academy.
This year’s honorary chair is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva. 22News will be among the many exhibitors along Main Street during the pancake breakfast. If you see our tent, come on over and say hi!
22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts in March 1953. Watch the 22News digital edition on weekdays at 4 p.m.
