By Brandon HENSLEY

The foothills is preparing for some good eatin’ this weekend, not to mention fun and games for kids of all ages, because on Sunday the community is invited to come on down to the Montrose Shopping Park for the annual events Taste of Montrose, Kids ‘n’ Kritters and Wags ‘n’ Whiskers.

Taste of Montrose will go from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For $20 a ticket, it will give patrons a chance to sample food from many local eateries, those in the shopping park as well as those from all over the community, which will have booths lined along Ocean View Boulevard.

Proceeds from the event will go toward Crescenta Valley High School’s Prom Plus organization, which holds an after-prom event every year at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA from midnight to 5 a.m.

“Taste of Montrose is a lot of fun and a good opportunity for the [community] to get to know the restaurants in the area,” said Dylan Sylvester, Prom Plus Club (PPC) president from Crescenta Valley High school.
This is Sylvester’s second term as president of the youth arm of the Prom Plus organization.

“As president … it’s a lot of responsibility and it’s hard at times, but it is so much fun and so worth it,” he added.

PPC will have 25 to 30 volunteers from CVHS to help with the Taste of Montrose event.

Tickets can be purchased from several local businesses including CV Weekly, Merle Norman Cosmetics, CV High School, CV Chamber of Commerce, Montrose Verdugo Chamber of Commerce and the UPS Stores in La Crescenta, Montrose and Glendale, as well as online at glendalearts.org and on the day of the event at the Prom Plus booth at Ocean View Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue.

Those looking for something other than food can head on over to Wags ‘n’ Whiskers and Kids ‘n’ Kritters, taking place in the shopping park from 9 a.m. to
2 p.m.

It will be the 10th year of involvement for Wags ‘n’ Whiskers, sponsored by the Glendale Humane Society. ‘Wags’ participants can bring their dogs to the shopping park for contests and parade them around for event-goers. There will also be a walk to the event starting from the top of Montrose Park.

Alyce Russell, executive director for Glendale Humane Society, said her experience with Wags ‘n’ Whiskers has been a positive one every year.

“It’s good for people getting out with their dogs and having people socialize with each other, and it brings awareness to rescuing animals from shelters,” she said. “It’s definitely positive. There are more people every year.”

The Glendale Humane Society, one of the oldest no-kill shelters in Southern California,  is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2014.

Russell is also an owner of Ocean View Restaurant, which will be participating in Taste of Montrose, as well as an owner of Andersen’s Pet Store, located in the shopping park.

“We are involved with customers in Montrose, customers in the pet store, people who adopt from us with the Glendale Humane Society … so yes, I’m passionate about it,” she said.

The 11th annual Kids ‘n’ Kritters, sponsored by the Montrose Shopping Park Association, has activities for children and families.

“Wild Wonders will be bringing exotic animals for the kids to get up close and personal with,” said Linda McMenamin, events coordinator of the MSPA. “We’ve got bounce houses, climbing walls, and Eurobungy to keep the kids busy.”

She also added Little Artist Party will offer hands-on crafting projects,  and there will be a face painter, balloon artist and, of course, a petting zoo.

“Every event has its challenges, but this one is fun to plan,” McMenamin said. “It’s about kids and dogs – two things that are very important to Montrose and the surrounding communities. We always try to find fun and inventive things to broaden the kids’ horizons and open up people’s eyes to the natural world around them.”

  Brandon Hensley