What an incredible weekend we all shared!

For me, it started on Friday with a funeral for the husband of my mother-in-law. In addition to the many friends Frank made during his life, he was very active in the Bavarian Club, which has a clubhouse in nearby North Hollywood. As expected, many of my mother-in-law’s friends from the Crescenta Valley – where she lived for decades – attended the service. Surprising were that people from the Bavarian Club who attended also live in the Crescenta Valley! And if that wasn’t testament enough of what a small world we live in, the president of the Bavarian Club who came is also the brother of my front office manager Lisa Mitchell! No kidding.

And Saturday – well, how did you choose to spend the day?! Maybe at the Special Olympics over at CV High School where hundreds of folks turned out to cheer on some very special athletes. Grace Chase, one of the founders of CV CAN – the organization that helped bring the qualifying games to the high school track – expressed her appreciation for the support showed at Saturday’s competition. You can read her letter to the community in the Viewpoints section.

Maybe instead of – or after – Special Olympics, you headed over to the Hometown Country Fair at CV Park.

Hosted by the CV Chamber of Commerce, the seventh annual event drew hundreds of folks who came out to ride the carnival rides from Kemsley Carnival, or chose to dine on some of the delicious Korean, Armenian or traditional fair food including hamburgers, hot dogs, and cotton candy. Or maybe they came to take part in the pie-eating contest (congratulations to the winner – a CV Weekly sponsored eater!), or entered their pooch in the dog parade. Plenty of booths shared information on the many non-profit organizations that Crescenta Valley is home to including the CV Drug & Alcohol Prevention Coalition, Prom Plus and the Lions Club. To learn how many giving folks donated their time and talents to pull this event together, read Julia Rabago’s column in the Business section.

Perhaps you weren’t even in Crescenta Valley, but battling the hills and the heat in the Baker to Vegas relay race.

For those in town, I hope that you headed over to the northwest corner of Honolulu and Ocean View for the luminaria ceremony at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The ceremony was a gentle reminder by organizers of the Foothills Relay for Life taking place in May that benefits the American Red Cross.

And there’s more coming down the pike.

The Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce is getting ready for its annual golf tournament and scholarship fundraiser on May 3. The money raised will benefit graduating high school seniors in the foothills area. The tournament is open to everyone. To learn more, read Melinda Clarke’s column in Business.

Another big event – and fundraiser – is the annual Wags n’ Whiskers/Kids n’ Kritters/Taste of Montrose taking place in the 2200 and 2300 blocks of Honolulu Avenue on May 6. The avenue is going to be full of folks celebrating their pets, their love of “kritters” and appreciation of the many fine restaurants found in the local area.

Mary Dawson can fill you in on page 22.

Recently I read a comment that “what happens on Foothill Boulevard doesn’t affect Montrose.” Well, sure it does. If the folks on and near the boulevard weren’t invested in Montrose – and the other way around – the sense of community that we all share would dry up.

How the community comes together is a reflection of the pride that those who live here share.

As the owner of the community newspaper, I have the privilege of letting you all know – whether online or in print, via Facebook or Twitter – the activities that are taking place that benefit our community.

As David Jones, territory sales manager for PHAT Energy on Foothill Boulevard, said to me in an email, “We … love the canvas you’ve given our community – a canvas that allows us to communicate together as a community and, thereby, enrich our community.”