By Jason KUROSU

The annual Taste of Montrose, event returned on Sunday, May 3 offering a broad sampling of Montrose’s culinary offerings for $20.

The Taste of Montrose brought back regular participating restaurants like Zeke’s Smokehouse and Frank’s Famous, as well as newer establishments, including Thee Elbow Room, La Fleur Pastry and Town Kitchen & Grill.

Proceeds from the Taste of Montrose went towards Prom Plus, the annual after-party held at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA. This year’s Prom Plus on May 23 will feature a 1950s New Jersey Boardwalk theme and include the usual attractions: a full casino, food court, arcade games, caricatures, music, photo booths, a gyroscope, rock climbing wall and a zipline.

Honolulu Avenue was also the venue for the 11th annual Wags & Whiskers fundraiser for the Glendale Humane Society, organized and sponsored in conjunction with the Montrose Shopping Park Association.

Along with a pet parade and raffle and vendor booths for numerous pet products, the Wags & Whiskers event generally brings out animals for adoption. This year, animals were not available to adopt at the event, but Linda McMenamin of the Glendale Humane Society encouraged anyone to visit the shelter in Glendale for a chance at adopting a dog or a cat.

Sunday was also Kids N’ Kritters Day in Montrose, which brought out animals of the more exotic variety. Kids N’ Kritters Day featured a farm animal petting zoo and three educational shows throughout the day, during which a host of exotic creatures were showcased. The shows were put on by animal trainers from San Diego’s Wild Wonders, a wildlife education organization which has come to Montrose each year to give a hands-on experience of some of the less common North and South American animals. The shows featured an iguana, alligator, armadillo, boa constrictor, porcupine and kinkajou.

  Jason Kurosu