WASHINGTON (Amazing America) — It’s a battle over breakfast that pits America against the British, but this competition isn’t about Independence — it’s about flapjacks.

It’s the annual International Pancake Day Race between women of the small Kansas panhandle city of Liberal and those in Olney, England. This marks the 77th year of the race.

Most of us know about the annual French-inspired Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. But the pancake day race is an English-inspired Shrove Tuesday celebration. Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday are celebrated on the day before Lent, the 40 days of fasting and prayer leading up to Easter Sunday.

Twenty-five flapjack flipping runners take part in the 1950 race in{ } { }Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. (Courtesy: AP/Eddie Worth)

The annual celebration features women racing 415 yards down the street while flipping pancakes. While hilariously entertaining, it is also a source of heartwarming hometown pride, as the community of Liberal comes together for a homecoming of sorts. Similar festivities happen across the pond in Olney, England, where the tradition is said to date back to 1445.

This photo was taken in Liberal during one of the early 1950s races. (Courtesy: International Pancake Day Hall of Fame)

The friendly flapjack competition, set for Feb. 17, 2026, traces its roots to Olney, England, more than 600 years ago. Legend has it that in 1445, a woman was busy using cooking fats — which were forbidden during Lent — when she heard the church bells ringing, calling townspeople to Shrove Tuesday services.

Local school boys run before the annual Shrove Tuesday women’s trans-Atlantic pancake race in the town of Olney, England.
(Courtesy: AP/Matt Dunham)

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In a rush, she grabbed her required headscarf and ran 415 yards to church, still wearing her apron. In the years that followed, neighbors joined in to see who could reach the church first and receive a “Kiss of Peace” from the bell ringer.

1955 newspaper clipping from the Kansas City{ } Times of Mrs. Binnie Dick getting a “Kiss of Peace” from the bell ringer, British Consul H.J. Legg, after she won the pancake race (Courtesy: Newspapers.com){ }

In 1950, community leader R.J. Leete saw a magazine article about the English race and reached out to a vicar in Olney. He challenged the Olney women to race against the women of Liberal, Kansas, and the annual competition was born. Liberal has 42 wins under its spatulas, while the women of Olney flipped their way to 31 wins over the decades. A few races didn’t count because of unusual circumstances.

The first event was sponsored by the local Jaycees community organization in 1950.{ } event. (Courtesy: International Pancake Day Hall of Fame)

Today, International Pancake Day in Liberal is celebrated for nearly a week with scavenger hunts, flapjack-eating contests, a church service, a parade, and an international video call between the two cities. If you miss it this year, mark your calendar for next year.

How do you top your pancakes? Tell us whether syrup is your go-to or if you prefer something else.

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