EPHRATA - The sizzle of pancake batter hitting a hot griddle, and the scrape of a spatula collecting scrambled eggs greeted people Friday morning.

People of all ages gathered in Sinkiuse Square in Moses Lake for the annual Cowboy Breakfast. The event, sponsored by the Moses Lake Kiwanis Club, Moses Lake Business Association, Farmers' Insurance and the Columbia Basin Rodeo Association, kicks off the Moses Lake Roundup Rodeo and the Grant County Fair.

Close to 500 people bought a breakfast of eggs, pancakes and sausages provided by Michael's on the Lake, and cooked by Kiwanis members, said Ted DeWitt, a club member.

Near the end of the line of trays, Moses Lake city Councilmember Dick Deane talked with Don Goodwin and Cliff Nicholas.

"I've been to every one of them," Deane said. "I can't tell you how many years."

Nicholas said the event took over for a parade, which used to kick off the week when the Grant County Fair was held.

"We used to have a fair day parade that kicked off the Grant County rodeo," he said.

Nearby DeWitt stood near a grill the Kiwanis used to cook the sausage patties. He joked he was supervising today. The event was going well, he said.

"We've had a good crowd here today. It's been a nice, steady crowd. No backups or anything like that," he said. "I'd say at least as good as last year, if not better maybe ... (There has been) a lot of help. A lot of the Kiwanians have stepped forward and the Key Club kids from the high school have really come out and helped us, so it's been a real plus."

The event is a kick off for the rodeo, he said. The club has a booth at the rodeo, which is the club's major fundraiser.

The rodeo theme covered the entire park, which was surrounded by fences. At the stage children prepared themselves for the Pee Wee rodeo, where they competed in events such as stick horse Bronc Riding, Barrell Racing, Dummy Roping and the Little Miss Moses Lake Roundup Queen Contest.

One of the contestants, 5-year-old Ignacio Garcia, stood with his mother, Angelica Garcia, after he rode his stick horse to a trophy. He smiled and nodded when he was asked whether he had fun.

This was the first year Angelica came to the event, saying they wanted to support the Kiwanis, and she wanted Ignacio to enjoy the event.

"This is great. It's real positive and the kids are having a lot of fun," Angelica said.

Following the Dummy Roping event, Kylan Lus stood with his grandmother Marilyn Burruss. Burruss took her children and now is taking her grandchildren to the event.

"We do everything with the fair, and I want my grandkids to be involved so this is always a blast," she said. "This is just so much fun ... The breakfast is always good, I'll tell you that, and then doing the little pee wee stuff, just to watch the kids. They're so cute."

Her children and her grandchildren have enjoyed coming to the event, she said.

"Fair time is a big time for us," she said. "It's just like an old-fashioned country fair here and to enter our stuff is just a blast. We make sawhorse cows. That's what we're doing. We're putting our sawhorse cows together at home."