By Charly SHELTON

Crowds will gather along the 2200 block of Honolulu on Sunday for an afternoon of beer and food tasting.

It’s time for craft beer, craft food and mingling with your neighbors down in Montrose, it must be time for the Montrose Food and Craft Beer Fest.

“The focus is independent craft brewers. We are highlighting and showcasing all independents, no ‘big beer’ as it is called it in the industry,” said Victoria Marie Malone, executive director of the Montrose Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce. “And this year’s event will be more interactive and engaging.”

Instead of ticketholders just walking from booth to booth and tasting the beer and the food from the restaurants of Montrose, when they receive their tasting glass they will also receive a swag bag.

“We are partnering with the City of Glendale – they will be providing the #MeetMeInMontrose bags – as well as the Montrose Shopping Park Association, which will be providing swag bags. So that’s new, we are providing a swag bag and we are partnering with two big organizations here in the community.”

Once inside the event gates, with tasting glass and swag bags in hand, there is no shortage of fun. In all, there will be 20 breweries pouring at least one offering from their stock, with some pouring multiple kinds of beer to show the breadth of their label. For example, Beachwood Blendery will be pouring its Foam Topper Blonde Ale as well as its Amalgamator IPA, two flavors that are currently not available at its taproom in Long Beach but will be flowing strong at the Craft Beer Fest.

To keep guests interacting between beers, there will be games scattered throughout the event including a giant Jenga, cornhole, giant Connect Four and more. And to share the experience, ticketholders can head to the selfie station where there will be bales of hay and holdable photo frames with the labels #Montrose, #MeetMeInMontrose and #Mayberry. Paramount above all is safety and, to make sure the guests get to and from the event safely, the ride-sharing platform Lyft has partnered with the festival to offer discounted rides using the offer code Mayberry17.

This will be the first event the MVCCOC has hosted since Malone took over the executive director position and she is looking forward to it. The event itself, she said, mirrors the experience of putting it all together.

“In the same ilk of the event, of pairing the restaurants’ craft foods with craft beers, our chamber has paired up well with a lot of local organizations and businesses to help promote, participate in and continue on the theme of pairing,” Malone said.

The event will be held this Sunday, April 8 in the 2200 block of Honolulu Avenue in the Montrose Shopping Park. Tickets are still available online at three different levels – VIP tickets are $55 and include unlimited beer, coffee and water, and an admission time of noon. General admission is $35, and has all of the above but a admission time of 1 p.m. The food sampling tickets are a $10 each, and can be added to the beer sampling tickets or purchased standalone. The Designated Driver ticket is $20 and includes food sampling, with a noon admission time. The event concludes for all ticket levels at 4 p.m.

For more info and to get tickets, visit MontroseChamber.org.

  Charly Shelton