By Charly SHELTON

Temperatures are warming up a bit and that means more time outside in the sun, enjoying the food and drink of spring before it gets too hot. One hallmark of spring in the Crescenta Valley is the annual Montrose Food and Brewfest, now in its third year, which will be held this Sunday, April 9 in the 2200 block of Honolulu Avenue.

 “It’s going to be a lot like last year but with some different breweries, like 25 of them, which is good,” said Melinda Clarke, executive director for the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce and event organizer for the MF&B. “Then we have our local wine shop [Rosso Wine Shop] coming in and we have the [Real Soda] craft guy who brings all the different sodas [like] last year.”

Among other returning favorites are Kona Brewing Co. from Hawaii, Hangar 24 from Redlands, Angel City Brewery from Los Angeles, Wolf Creek Brewery from Santa Clarita and Poseidon Brewing Co. from Ventura. New breweries include Pocock Brewing Co. from Santa Clarita and The Great Beer Company from Chatsworth, among others.

In addition to the Brewfest element, local restaurants will be coming out to offer nibbles and bites for hungry guests to enjoy as they stroll the avenue.

 “This year we have almost 10 restaurants from Montrose, so I’m excited,” Clarke said. “New people are here like Basin 141 and Town Kitchen and Grill providing samples to guests.”

And what’s a festival without music? Previous iterations of Brewfest have included a giant stage on which bands could perform, Clarke said, but last year’s model of having several smaller performance spaces was much more enjoyable.

 “I think the platform that we have and what we’ve kind of set up is pretty good,” she said. “They’re just small little things throughout the event so wherever you are you’re hearing music. But I like the way we have it and it seems to be working really well.”

This event is all about helping the community while having a good time, Clarke added. Some proceeds from the event will go to benefit the Glendale Police Foundation and the Glendale Fire Foundation, and the event itself helps get the word out about the restaurants and businesses of Montrose that some guests may not have encountered previously.

“I love promoting the Montrose restaurants because most Brewfests don’t have food in their beer garden area. I like that about the event. It makes us different and unique and it gets a lot of business for the restaurants,” Clarke said. “What we have is working really well, so we haven’t changed the way it is and people really enjoy it.”

Tickets are available now that can be purchased from the chamber website, brewfest.montrosechamber.org. The VIP ticket, giving guests an extra hour head start from noon to 1 p.m. is $45, and the general admission ticket for the festival from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. is $35. Designated driver tickets, which allow food only, are $25.

  Charly Shelton