Underground collectives have, for the past few years, been creating a buzzing music scene in Vancouver—but while most media stories focus on the city’s nightlife, there are plenty of community activities going on during the day.

Pancakes and Jam is one of the longest-running regular events to offer artists and music aficionados a location to socialize, share, and participate. Designed to help build bonds between individuals by serving up brunch alongside its live music dance party, the event strives to create a safe space for people to express themselves, make friends, dance, and play.

“It was actually done with a couple of things in mind,” says Pancakes and Jam co-founder and organizer Benjamin Fayle in a YouTube clip, discussing the genesis of the event. “It was done as a social experiment, and it was done very much as a conscious replacement for church. Many of us don’t go to church anymore, but I think people miss that sense of community, and that sense of togetherness. So we decided to combine music, and food, and Sunday afternoons.

“We use many of the Burning Man principles, like radical inclusion, self-expression, and participation,” he continues. “We’re getting people to make it their own event.”

Like the Nevada festival on which its ideology is founded, Pancakes and Jam is built on individuals offering their time to cook, play instruments, dance, and clean. Potluck items that complement the pancakes like condiments, beverages, and other brunch food are always appreciated, and the event itself is funded by donation.

This Sunday sees Pancakes and Jam mark its four year anniversary—and the afternoon promises a suitably eclectic musical lineup. As ever, singers, singer-songwriters, and other musicians are welcome to bring their instruments to jam together, with those sporting a more quiet style asked to come out earlier. As the day progresses, the event is set to get livelier with The Legion of Flying Monkeys Horn Orchestra—a local band famed for its Dr. Seussian-looking handmade instruments—taking to the stage at 3 p.m.

Offering inclusive activities such as morning yoga at 11.30 a.m. and breakfast food all afternoon long, Pancakes and Jam provides a family-friendly and creative way to relax after the weekend.

Pancakes and Jam is at the Woods Studio (7 West 2^nd Avenue) on Sunday (January 8), from 11.30 a.m. until 5 p.m.