It is Shrove Tuesday yet again and here in London we have a multitude of pancake races, each one to celebrate or promote a different cause or organisation. Jumping on a well established national calendar event with a little creative flair is a really good way to get your organisation or your cause noticed.
As with any event, you need to align your objectives and your audience with the activity you have planned. If a good dose of silliness and some traditional English competitive spirit (think sports day egg and spoon races) might work for your brand or your clients, why bring your creativity to a Pancake Day event?
Pancake day races aren’t only about promoting charities. Better Bankside organise an annual pancake race involving local businesses. A fee is charged to participants in the race, with proceeds going to charity.
Their aim is to raise money for nominated charity Paintings in Hospitals, but the other aim is to promote the business community and to support networking. Also, who wouldn’t enjoy seeing London professionals in fancy dress and trying to flip pancakes?
A more traditional charity pancake race where the focus is all on the fancy dress and raising money for the London Air Ambulance. It is a fantastic cause and teams of 4 can enter completely free so they can focus on their own fundraising.
The race takes place up and down Dray Walk at the Old Truman Brewery and winners receive the coveted engraved frying pan. This is a really good example of a creatively inspired fundraising event.
Insulting politicians is not a new thing and this pancake race makes the most of it by lining up MPs, Lords and the press to win the title of ‘best pancake tossers’. In keeping with expectations of a parliamentary style event, there are strict rules to be observed for thos who participate.
These include continuous flipping of pancakes and a ban on the use of frying pans as weapons or to make rude gestures. This daft event raises funds for the charity Rehab.
If you thought you’d missed the best pancake day races in London, think again. While most happen at lunchtime on Shrove Tuesday itself, this event is scheduled this coming Saturday (13th February 2016).
By combining pancake racing with Valentines day, Greenwich Market have set up an event to promote the stalls and traders on a busy weekend day. They’ll make the most of the Saturday footfall while prolonging the pancake day celebrations! They’re also raising money for The Sick Children’s Trust.
If you’d never before considered pancakes and events in the same breath, then our work here is done! Let us know your favourite events and what you get up to in London in February. We’re always out and about scouting for new experiences and we welcome any tips for anything we may have missed!
Featured image by Richard Gillin used under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
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