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Letters From The Editor: Carve out time for Pumpkins and Pancakes

By John Canalis
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I like Halloween.

Not for the sweets.

Not for the costumes.

Not for the haunted houses.

I like it for the pancakes. Pumpkins and Pancakes, really. Two things that go together about as well as chicken and waffles.

The annual event by the same name at South Coast Plaza is one to which I always look forward. Not only is it a fun activity, where they serve good breakfast and entertain children with music, crafts and character appearances, but it benefits Orange County youngsters in the toughest of circumstances.

These are kids who may or may not be enjoying Halloween because they are sick, in the throes of the dysfunctional family court system or are recovering from neglect and abuse.

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Tough stuff. Regardless, Pumpkins and Pancakes organizers work to help those in need by making sure everyone is having fun while they raise money for little ones who are not. And they’ve been at it for 20 years.

Pumpkins and Pancakes helps the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County, which serves abused, abandoned and neglected foster teens; the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Foundation, which treats our sickest children; and the Orangewood Children’s Foundation, which shelters abandoned and abused and neglected minors.

Good causes, all.

Now younger kids don’t need to know why they are at the event because their ears may not be ready to hear about the heroic work done by CASA, CHOC and Orangewood. No matter. They’ll be filled by food from Plums Café and entertained by music, face painting, balloon artists, caricature drawings, photographers, hair feather artists, costumed characters and other activities.

You can decide which of the three charities you want to help when buying tickets at southcoastplaza.com/pumpkins.

Pumpkins and Pancakes is from 8 to 11 a.m. Sunday. Tickets are $30 each if you buy them by noon Friday and $35 at the door. Children 2 and younger get in for free. For more information, call (714) 435-2171.

JOHN CANALIS is editor of the Daily Pilot, Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot and the Huntington Beach Independent. He can be reached at (714) 966-4607 and john.canalis@latimes.com.

John Canalis

John Canalis works with editorial and finance to execute the editorial budget and serves as a liaison with the business side to develop and fine-tune initiatives that generate new revenue. He coordinates with senior management, Human Resources and the L.A. Times Guild on labor-related and personnel issues. He is a member of the management bargaining team and has oversight over implementation of the collective bargaining agreement. Canalis previously served as executive editor of Times Community News. He came to The Times in 2010 from the Long Beach Press-Telegram, where he worked in multiple roles, including as business/city editor, assistant city editor, assistant editorial pages editor, columnist and county government reporter. A lifelong Southern California resident, Canalis has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Cal State Long Beach and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

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