Happy Birthday, Montrose

The Montrose-Verdugo City is so excited about the centennial of Montrose. What started as a valley of orchard groves has turned into a vibrant place to live, work, play and raise a family. Many people move into this area because of its proximity to Downtown L.A. and its “other-worldly” peacefulness. Over the years, Montrose has continued to grow and change and adapt to an ever-changing world with all of its glitz and glamour, but has always managed to retain its “hometown” Americana charm. That is something special. That is something we want to protect and keep for another 100 years.

There are so many places that are going high tech and offering an endless supply of things to do, but we have chosen to be a place where you can take a pause from all of that and sit on a bench, on a beautiful street and enjoy an ice cream cone with your kids or your sweetheart. That is why the City of Glendale has deemed Montrose “Glendale’s Historic Old Town” and recognizes the value of this area.

You can help keep our beautiful city vibrant and alive by shopping local as often as you can, frequenting the restaurants and bringing in friends and family from other parts of Southern California and introducing them to our “little slice of heaven.”

I hope that you were able to come by and enjoy the centennial celebration this past weekend that the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. sponsored. There were various bands that played at two separate stages, a bullwhip master, cowgirl tricks, Montrose history walking tours and presentations, storytelling for the kids, square dancing, a line dancing presentation by the kids from Revolution Dance Center and a birthday cake and Happy Birthday, Montrose celebration at the end of the event. Yee haw!

But wait … there’s more! That event will not be the end of the centennial celebration. The Montrose chamber will be having more centennial events throughout the rest of 2013. So please stay tuned. The party will continue!

Our next centennial event is our grand opening/ribbon cutting/mixer at Casa Cordoba in Montrose. They have invaded the Zwick’s Plaza on Honolulu Avenue courtyard with their Spanish tapas menu, live music and Flamenco dancers. You can sit outside under the stars and enjoy your dinner. We will be having our mixer on Wednesday, March 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Cost of entry is $9 for non-members and that includes food and drinks. They will be having samplings of many of their popular dishes, launching their live music, and dancing. They are currently open for lunch, so stop by and give them a try.

As you all know, the Montrose Verdugo-City Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Glendale City Council candidates’ forum on Monday, March 11 at 7 p.m. at Sparr Heights Community Center. We are also adding a GUSD candidates’ forum and a city clerk candidates’ forum. Please email mvcc@montrosechamber.org, log onto our website at www.montrosechamber.org or call (818) 249-7171 with your questions. You will also be able to submit written questions at the event. We need everyone’s participation to make this a great success. Sparr Heights Community Center, 1613 Glencoe Way, Glendale 91208.

Also remember there is a website to help you get any information you need on candidates and issues called Glendalevotes.org. The City of Glendale maintains the site and constantly updates it. You can find your voting location, meet all the candidates and learn about the special ballot message.

Exercise your right to vote!

Upcoming Events
“Montrose: Images Of America” is on sale now. A pictorial history book of Montrose by local historian Robert Newcombe is available for purchase. You can buy it at the chamber or any of our local bookstores.

Centennial March business mixer on Wednesday March 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Casa Cordoba, 2331 Honolulu Ave., Suite C, Montrose in historic Zwick’s Plaza. Grand opening and ribbon-cutting.

Glendale City Council/GUSD School Board Forum on Monday, March 11 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sparr Heights Community Center, 1613 Glencoe Way, Glendale 91208.

Vietnam Remembrance Day on Saturday, April 13 from 8 a.m. at the Vietnam War Memorial, northwest corner of Ocean View Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue.

  melinda clarke