The following is an article that appeared in the Star Tribune on Monday, May 21st 2012.
Minneapolis — A melee erupted in the yard of a Northeast Minneapolis home on Sunday during an event coinciding with the annual Art-a-Whirl festival.
The event, called Church of the Pancake, parodies a church service by including elements of a mass like church-themed readings, hymns, live music, and a homily, while serving brunch food , including pancakes, to attendees. Alcohol is also served at the event.
The altercation stemmed from a reading that advocated a new branch of the existing Church of the Pancake and that was more “fundamentalist and orthodox” called Church of the Bran Flake.
According to several attendees, including some in police custody, the Church of the Bran Flake would’ve been very similar to the Church of the Bran Flake, but start earlier, have healthier brunch options, take place in the front yard of the property, and have a port-a-potty for an additional bathroom that other churches in the yard couldn’t use.
After the mock service, the reading lead to several ideas for other spin-off churches, including The Church of Your Gross Face, The Church of Maybe You Should Lose Some Weight and Not Eat As Many Pancakes, and ultimately a few attendees who began assaulting other event-goers while yelling “Church of the Hurtz Donut”.
“The previous two events were not problems, just fine,” said Clint Stockwell, who owns the house next door the property where the incident took place. “But I started hearing a lot of loud shouting, and looked out the window, and there was fighting and glasses and plates being thrown all around the back yard.”
Alejandra Pelinka, Director of NEMAA, the organization that coordinates Art-a-Whirl events, commented on the incident by saying, “While we encourage Northeast residents to make the weekend as creative and enjoyable as possible, we don’t think that type of behavior captures the spirit of Art-a-Whirl and is really unfortunate.”
The woman who owns the property where the fracas occurred declined to be named, but when interviewed said, “I’m from Milwaukee, so I guess I didn’t think a few drunk guys fighting after a church service is all that weird.”