Things are cooking for the 26th annual Westbrook Together Days on Saturday, June 4.

Booths of all descriptions at Riverbank Park will be serving up a wide variety of burgers, beverages, fries and candy among other goodies. And the popular pancake breakfast sponsored by Boy Scout troop 81 promises to be bigger and better than ever.

The Scouts pancake breakfast will be served for three hours, beginning at 7 a.m. for the early birds. They’ll be set up in the park at their familiar location near St. Mary’s Church. Scoutmaster Dick Chretien said this year’s breakfast will include eggs, home fries and sliced ham in addition to the traditional pancakes and sausages served in the past. With the extra menu items, breakfast costs increased a dollar this year to $4 and $2.50 for children.

Chretien will be taking this week off from work to prepare for their annual breakfast under the tent. “It’s expanded tremendously,” Chretien said last week about the breakfast.

He’s still calculating how much food it will take to meet the appetites. Last week, he figured they would cook up 15 dozen eggs, 20 pounds of potatoes and brew four pounds of coffee to satisfy Westbrook’s hungry fairgoers.

Perhaps invigorated by the fresh early morning air along the Presumpscot River, fairgoers have a thirst for coffee. “We go through a lot of that,” Chretien said.

In past years, the Scouts waited on tables. But true to their motto, “Be Prepared,” they’re readying for the biggest breakfast crowd since they began the breakfast about eight years ago.

Customers will walk through a serving line this year and choose the items they want from the expanded menu. The Scouts will be setting up 12 tables with 6 people each. The 12 Scouts will be available to help carry plates for senior citizens and young children. The Scouts will serve the coffee besides clearing and resetting the tables.

Chretien, who has served as Scoutmaster for 30 years, said the pancake breakfast really took off in recent years and the numbers of customers caught the troop off guard. “Two years ago, we got slammed hard. It really caught on – mind boggling. It caught on big,” he said. “It went smooth last year.”

Chretien will be cracking eggs and cooking on one of the stoves and his wife, Ruth, who is the troop treasurer, will direct the overall breakfast operation. The food isn’t donated, as the troop buys it all. The breakfast is the troop’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds help pay for the troop’s yearly program, Chretien said.

Troop 81 sold meatball sandwiches last year during the event’s 25th anniversary, but it won’t have a booth this year. They’re, however, preparing to warm late fairgoers if an evening chill sets in. Chretien is building a cart to sell coffee Saturday evening while a band plays.

The Scouts will be setting up their tents again this year and camping out overnight. Some adults stay up all night, monitoring the campers.

Chretien is now leading a second generation of Scouts. Many former Scouts come back to the park each year to visit during Westbrook Together Days. “A big 6’5″ guy weighing 300 pounds asks do you remember me?” Chretien chuckled.

Troop 81 and Chretien have been involved since the inception of Westbrook Together Days. He helped organize the first one.