The Montrose Shopping Park tree lighting ceremony is on Nov. 24 and includes musical performances, a visit from Santa and the lighting of the official Montrose Shopping Park Christmas tree.
With Thanksgiving just a week away, it’s time to welcome in the holiday season.
By Mary O’KEEFE
Norman Rockwell has nothing on Montrose during the holidays. The picturesque town turns into the perfect winter wonderland, minus the snow, freezing cold winds and icy streets.
The kickoff of the holiday season is the Friday after Thanksgiving. In most places, this day is known as Black Friday; this is the day that retailers offer reduced prices and, hopefully, will do enough business to put them in the “black” and, therefore, make a profit. In Montrose, the term was changed to White Friday and it launches the Montrose Old-Town Christmas tradition of music, horse-drawn rides and Santa Claus.
On White Friday, beginning at 6 p.m. and continuing until 8 p.m., the Jingle Singers, an adult caroling group, will walk around town and perform. Then around 6:30 p.m., bubble snow will fall from above and there will be a performance by the Hummingbird Carolers from the Hummingbird Conservatory, a local music conservatory.
There will be a stage, actually a horse-drawn wagon, where officials will speak and at 7:15 p.m. Glendale Mayor Vartan Gharpetian will throw the switch for the official tree lighting. At the same time, members of the Crescenta Valley High School Prom Plus Club will turn on all the lights that line the trees along Honolulu Avenue. The lights around the trees are up all year long; however, the lights will be turned off until the official tree and park lighting.
The Montrose celebration of the holidays is a throw-back to the “old days” that inspired Rockwell to honor so many small town traditions.
“It was White Friday because of the snow we trucked in, but we don’t do that anymore,” said Dale Dawson, MSPA business administrator and event coordinator, adding, “we still make snow with the snow blowers.”
This is the schedule for Montrose from Nov. 24 to Dec. 23: Free horse-drawn wagon rides throughout the shopping park every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Santa will be in town from noon to 3 p.m. every weekend and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. there will be free pony rides for kids. In addition, there will be live music in every block of Honolulu Avenue from the 2200 block to the 2400 block. Musicians will be playing on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
White Friday festivities are on Nov. 24 in the 2200 block of Honolulu Avenue in Montrose beginning at 6 p.m.
Let the Holidays Begin! added by CV Weekly on
View all posts by CV Weekly →