Big
band pancake breakfast
The 23rd annual Lantana Airport Big Band Pancake Breakfast was held Sunday, October 30, 2011. Ted Knight's 20-piece big band played from 10:30 until 1:00.
Several hundred people turned out to enjoy classic cars and cool planes on display along with pancakes, bacon, sausage, coffee and juice, and the music of a true big band.
Vocalist Tom Willis was featured on
All Right, Okay, You Win and Soul Man. Vibraphonist Nate Skinner
(with Tom, at left) joined the band for the first time, playing
terrific solos on Night Train and Flying Home.
Anita Smith sang Taking a Chance on Love and The Look of Love. Click images to enlarge.
The band played
several patriotic numbers. At left, a color guard sets the flag. At
right, Glen Rovinelli and Paul Magersuppe play "fifes" (piccolos) as
drummer Jean Bolduc sets a marching beat. Later the band played an
Armed Forces Salute.
The band played blues and rock as well as Miller, Ellington and Basie. Michael Jackson's Thriller and Stevie Wonder's Superstition, played especially for Halloween, were a hit with kids of all ages.
Ted's
father, Vic Knight, led his own band for the annual event until
his death in 2000.
Ted played keyboard and sang with his father's band, and he's proud to carry on the family tradition.
At left, Ted sings Wind Beneath My Wings in his father's memory.
All in the family
The event was started by the late Owen Gassaway, Jr. Owen, a deeply patriotic World War II veteran, became the Lantana airport administrator after the war and staged the annual event out of his love for the big bands. His work with air patrol cadets helped teach flying and patriotism to thousands of young people through the years. The airport has now been officially designated Owen Gassaway Field in his honor.
Owen Gassaway III now runs the airport, proud, just like Ted, to follow in his father's footsteps.
The details
Hangar space, tie-downs, fuel, food and rental cars are readily available. For more information call 561-965-6400, or tune in Unicom frequency 122.7.
The airport is located on Lantana Road in central Palm Beach County, Florida, about a half-mile west of the I-95 exit. There are inexpensive motels at Hypoluxo Road, the next exit south, and luxury accommodations at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Photos courtesy of Martee Held.