By Mary O’KEEFE

The Hometown Country Fair on Saturday, hosted by the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce, was a big success according to organizers. There was not an official count of how many people attended the event at Crescenta Valley Park, but it did seem like it was one of the best-attended Fairs in its 13-year history.

“Every time I … looked toward the vendors I saw a lot of people,” said Calvin “Kaipo” Chock, president of CVCOC and chair of the event. “I thought the turnout was great.”

The weather was perfect, too; not too hot and there was no rain.

A parade of cars ushered in the car show with more than 50 cars featured then displayed. Local businesses and nonprofit organizations were represented and a variety of merchants offered unique items for sale. There were a lot of activities offered as well, from karoake to dog parades, with lots of dancing and, of course, a pie-eating contest that was won by Katie Blood.

The Fair highlighted local first responders, including those with the Glendale police and fire departments, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept., Montrose Search and Rescue and Los Angeles County Fire Dept. and California Highway Patrol.

“The first responders never say no. They are always there when you need them and, for that, the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce, as well as the great community we live in, says ‘Thank you for all you do,’” Chock added.

“It is important for the Chamber to be able to bring the community together for the fair, but also it was a chance to have all our first responders together to be recognized,” said Jean Maluccio, Chamber board member.

“I would like to thank all the dignitaries who came out – Congressman Adam Schiff, State Senator Anthony Portantino, Assemblymember Laura Friedman, Glendale Unified School District Board members Jennifer Freeman and Shant Sahakian and Christian Daly, the representative from LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger,” Chock said.

“Special thanks to Supervisor Kathryn Barger and the staff of Crescenta Valley Park for providing all they did,” Maluccio added.

The Chamber also reached out to local schools and asked students to write letters of appreciation to the first responders.

“A thank you to the many, many students who wrote letters of thanks,” Maluccio said.

The letters were distributed to the first responder agencies.

  Mary Okeefe