The summer solstice was rung in with the sound of spatulas on a grill recently as Parksville-Qualicum Shriners held a pancake breakfast outside the Middleton office of the local radio station, The Beach/The Lounge.
The occasion, said organizer Patrick Nicholson, was the station’s annual celebration of the first day of summer.
“We’ve done this for the last three or four years but usually we’re parked out on the front at the highway and in the past we had Tim Horton’s doughnuts and coffee,” Nicholson said. “With the (other business) moving out, the parking lot became available, so we thought, why don’t we get the Shriners to come down for a pancake breakfast?”
The summer solstice is the day when the hours of sunlight are the longest and marks the official beginning of summer. Similarly, the winter solstice is the traditional first day of winter, when the night is the longest of the year.
Moneys raised go towards the many charitable works provided by Branch 34 of the Shriners.