These amazing friends and family members (plus a few camera shy folks) were responsible for our FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK PANCAKE BREAKFAST/BOOK LAUNCH. From left to right, standing – Lorne, Liz, Harriet, Dave, Wim, me, Connie, Sandy, Maureen, Maryse, Peter; front row Ayesha, Joyce, Jane, Lucas.

We had so much fun planning, designing, preparing and setting up for our guests. Approximately 140 folks (120 adults, 20 kids) took part in the fun – pancake breakfast, selfie photo booth, book sales, kids games, illustration demonstration and lesson, and a reading with cameo appearances by Maggie the badger, and my grandchildren Isaac and Abigail. My daughter Maryse and her husband Peter, and their five children, hosted us at their beautiful acreage west of Calgary. The weather couldn’t have been better – sunshine, no rain!

Some awesome local businesses were a big part of the event. Red Barn Books, who published FLIP, FLOP, FLAPJACK, and Ayesha Clough, the heart of Red Barn Books https://redbarnbooks.ca. Alannah and Trevor, owners of Lannie Rae Gourmet, https://lannieraegourmet.com/ donated all the pancake batter. Melissa Brugelmans-LaBelle, the book’s illustrator and artist behind Touch of Paint https://touchofpaint.ca/, displayed her coffee paintings that she’s famous for, and led children in a drawing lesson. Sarah and Rob, booksellers extraordinaire from Owl’s Nest Books (Calgary) http://www.owlsnestbooks.com/ came out and handled book sales.

We wanted to share some of the fun here with you, in case any readers are interested in how to launch a book with a Western theme. Here’s a taste of last Saturday’s event. YAHOO!!