2nd Annual Montrose Film Festival

This Weekend

This year Dale and I celebrate 30 wonderful years of calling Los Angeles home. We grew up in Baltimore, nicknamed “Charm City.” Yes, it was charming in many ways, but the 24-hour summer humidity was not one of them. Not so in Montrose, especially this weekend as we get ready to put the icing on the cake of your summer. Yes folks, they are calling for mid-90s in the day and a perfect 65 degrees for our outdoor movie viewing. I can’t wait!

For those that are reading this paper for the first time, let me catch you up on what we have been talking about the last two weeks. This Friday, we are kicking off our 2nd Annual Montrose Film Festival. The inspiration of Steve Pierce and Tony Smith, along with the Montrose Shopping Park Association, the festival will be showing open air movies along with offering free hot popcorn. The event will take place on the site of the former Montrose Theater in the lot next to Andersen’s Pets.

Friday night the evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with rock ‘n’ roll from The Famous Sardo Brothers Band. At 8:15 p.m., when the sun starts to go down, we will show “American Graffiti,” the 1973 classic film on cruising. On Saturday night The Maestros will entertain us with music from the 60s and we will be screening “Grease,” a musical that will make you want to dance, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.     Throughout both evenings classic cars will bring the films to life as they cruise Honolulu Avenue. For those who wish to view the cars they will be displayed in parking lot 7, behind Pho 22. Be sure to check out the “sleds” – classic cars with flames painted on the sides.

For those who come hungry, Zeke’s, El Charro, Star Café, Black Cow, Blue Fish, Wacky Wok, Cucina Rustica and Pepe’s will have special menus of finger foods for you to order from. CV Prom Plus students will be your servers and food runners – that is, wait on you hand and foot.

This year, you can expect to walk the red carpet and see a custom built theater façade. The façade is being built and designed by our friend Steve Fuller and Dale Dawson. Here’s some trivia for you: Steve does special effects for the movie industry and his dad, Kent Fuller, builds race cars. Both happen to be friends of Don Tubbs, the second person we met when we first came to Montrose.

We have a chair waiting just for you at the Film Festival. Bring a blanket to snuggle up in and look forward to joining us for a weekend under the stars.

  Mary Dawson