The Kiwanis Club of Lake Bluff & Lake Forest will fire up the griddles for the 53rd time on Saturday, July 4, when its annual Fourth of July Pancake Breakfast takes over the Lake Bluff Village Green.

The breakfast opens at 7 a.m. at the corner of Scranton and Sheridan in Lake Bluff. By 7:30 a.m., the Jim Jacobs Jazz Band will be playing live, giving early risers a soundtrack of jazz standards while they eat.

Fifty-three years puts the tradition's origins around 1974. The club's website describes the morning in characteristically casual terms, inviting neighbors to "get your jazz on" and urging volunteers to help serve because "it's fun flipping pancakes."

The band

Jim Jacobs, a jazz musician based in Gurnee, will be joined by Thomas Power, Chris Wren, and Tony Morrison. The group's setlist draws from the Great American Songbook, with titles like "A Foggy Day," "A Beautiful Friendship," and "Pure Imagination" listed on the band's ReverbNation page.

Volunteers welcome

The Kiwanis Club is actively seeking community members willing to help flip and serve pancakes on the morning of July 4. David Lee is listed as the event organizer on the Patch community calendar. Details on how to volunteer are available on the Kiwanis Club's website.

A full Fourth

The breakfast is one of two major July 4 events in the area. That evening, the separate 18th Annual Lake Forest Festival and Fireworks begins at 5 p.m. at Deerpath Community Park, 400 Hastings Road, with fireworks at dusk, according to the Chicago Tribune's summer events guide.

Residents looking for a low-key start to the holiday can grab a plate, listen to some jazz, and still have the whole afternoon free before the evening fireworks in Lake Forest.

Admission cost has not been listed on the Kiwanis website or the Patch event page. Check the club's site for updates before heading out Saturday morning.