Since the 1970s, Saratoga Music Boosters (SMB) has held an annual Pancake Breakfast every May: a morning of performances, raffles and of course, pancakes. While it first began as a way to celebrate the music programs from both Saratoga High and Redwood Middle at the Redwood Middle School quad, as the programs at both schools have expanded, the event has turned into a fundraiser held at SHS.
The 2025 Pancake Breakfast will be held on May 4 from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, raffle tickets are $4 and families can choose to sponsor a teacher for $25 as well.
This year, the performers include:
- RMS and SHS Jazz Bands
- RMS and SHS Winter Percussions
- RMS and SHS Winter Guards
- RMS and SHS Choirs
- RMS Beginning Band, Beginning Percussion, Intermediate Band and Advanced Band
- RMS Beginning Orchestra, Intermediate Orchestra, Advanced Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra
- SHS Combined Orchestra and Combined Band
- RMS Mega Symphony Orchestra
- RMS/SHS Combined Orchestra Finale
This will be the first year that the RMS Color Guard performs at Pancake Breakfast since 2019.
While proceeds vary from year to year, the event raised $50,000 last year from tickets, raffles and silent auctions. SMB President Alicia de Fuentes, however, aims to not only raise funds for the program but also hold a community event that students and families can enjoy. She encourages parents in the music program to help organize the event through the Pancake Breakfast Committee.
“If you really want to have a fun volunteering role then the Pancake Breakfast Committee is the one to lift you even on your toughest day!” she wrote. “Their mission is to offer the breakfast we have all grown to love (pancakes, sausages, strawberries, and a variety of beverages), find a variety of silent auction items, raffles, spot buys and grab bags so that there is something for everyone to enjoy.”
The event is completely volunteer driven, with volunteers working throughout the day on Saturday to prepare for Sunday.
“Then Sunday, before the sun rises, the sausages are being cooked, the tables are staged, umbrellas are propped up around the quad and our stations come alive with the volunteers staging and operating their areas,” she said.
De Fuentes particularly noted the key roles of Jim Axline and Howard Miller — parents of former SHS students. Axline works the grill each year and Miller teaches “celebrity flippers” — guests to the event, often including the SHS and RMS principals and mayors — how to serve pancakes.
“It is thanks to the generosity of the community that makes this event so meaningful,” De Fuentes said. “The funds raised go directly to the students whether it be for program grants, musical instruments, music sheets, etc. and every music opportunity will be made available to every child.”
