Jewish Food Festival This Sunday in Library Park

This Sunday, April 7, the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys will present the Jewish Food Festival at Library Park in Monrovia, from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. This event will celebrate the diverse culinary traditions of Jewish communities throughout the world and throughout history.

The festival will feature favorites such as Matzah Ball Soup, Brisket Sandwiches, Falafel, Black and White cookies, Noodle Kugel and others. Food demonstrations will include pickle making, challah braiding and soft matzah. There will be a special Kids Zone area with bounce houses, craft projects, face painting, balloon artist, a chance to explore a fire truck and police car, and a couple places for kids to read to dogs. Other opportunities include a Beer and Wine Garden, and a Visual Arts Exhibition showcasing local Jewish artisans.

Musical performances will take place throughout the day and will be headlined by Mostly Kosher, the acclaimed klezmer gypsy-rock band that spent the past two years as part of Disney's Festival of Holidays, and children's recording artist Jason Mesches.

The event is open to the public. Tickets can be purchased at the festival or online at www.jewishsgpv.org/jewish-food-festival or by calling 445-0810. For more information about the Jewish Food Festival, please call the Jewish Federation at 445-0810.

Source: Press release

- Brad Haugaard

Free Neighborhood Conference

Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) will hold its free 10th Annual Neighborhood Conference this Saturday, April 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Second Baptist Church, 925 S. Shamrock. Workshop Topics: Neighborhood Treasures, upcoming development, de-escalation simulations with Monrovia Police, history, active shooter training, renewal updates. For further information contact MAP staff at 932-5563 or map@ci.monrovia.ca.us. Details: https://goo.gl/P67uoE

- Brad Haugaard

Fatburger and Buffalo's Express Opens in Monrovia

A Fatburger and Buffalo's Express co-branded restaurant opened on April 2 in the shopping center at the northeast corner of Huntington and  Fifth Avenue. The restaurant will be open 7 days a week, 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. https://is.gd/iGO36n

I dropped by and snapped a picture of the menu.


- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Wine Walk April 13

3rd Annual Old Town Monrovia Wine Walk, April 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. Stroll through Old Town, exploring each business, and sampling wines and enjoying music. Spend $100 in Old Town in one shopping/dining experience and receive two pre-sale tickets for $35 each, a savings of $10. (Receipts must be presented when purchasing tickets from the Community Center, 3 Beauty Bar, Charlie's House, PrimeLending, Sauté, or Sunday's Old Town Bistro to receive discount.)

- Brad Haugaard

Tip-A-Cop to Benefit Special Olympics

- Brad Haugaard

Fountain to Falls Race May 11

 

- Brad Haugaard

Easter Egg Hunt in Recreation Park April 20

- Brad Haugaard

Earth Day in Canyon Park

- Brad Haugaard

City Installing 16-Inch Water Pipe In North Monrovia; Easter Egg Hunt; Fountain to Falls; Tip a Cop; Etc.

In his latest report (https://goo.gl/aOqX7O) City Manager Oliver Chi reports:

~  Work begins next week on construction of a 16-inch water pipeline from the intersection of Laurel Lane / Canyon Crest Drive, over to Canyon Boulevard, and then north on Canyon Boulevard up to the Oakglade Reservoir. It's designed to improve water flows, pressure, and reliability

~ Spring Egg Hunt & Healthy Kids Day will be April 20. There will be arts and crafts to face painting, carnival games to a petting zoo, wellness activities to healthy lifestyle demonstrations, and toddler to teen activities. Registration for the Easter egg hunt will begin at 9 a.m. For more information call the Department of Public Services at 256-8246.

~  The 2019 Fountain to the Falls Run/Walk & Health Fair, a 6.38 mile out-and-back race from the Library Park fountain to the Canyon Park waterfall, will be held Saturday, May 11, at 7 a.m. Registration is $45. For additional information contact the Monrovia Community Center at 256-8246.

~  Tip-A-Cop. The Monrovia Police Department will host a fundraiser to benefit the Special Olympics on Thursday, April 11, from 5-9 p.m. Police and LA County deputies will be servers at Claim Jumper (820 W. Huntington). All tips will be donated to the Special Olympics.

~  This week AT&T will be poking around in 24 manholes around town to test the capacity of their fiber-optic lines.

~  A workshop on how to make a 30-second public service announcement will be held on Wednesday, April 17, from 6 to 7 p.m., at the Community Media of the Foothills studio at 847 E. Olive (the Mary Wilcox Youth Center). To learn more or to RSVP call 357-4974 or email kgemtv@gmail.com.

~ Teens in Grades 7-9 can participate in one of three summer sessions of the Junior Researcher Academy, hosted by the City and the Oak Crest Institute of Science. They'll be introduced to a variety of scientific fields through hands-on experiments with  research scientists. $100 per session (scholarships available). Details: https://is.gd/txAh6r

~  The City of Monrovia will begin accepting applications for this year's Youth Employment Services Summer Internship on Thursday, April 4. The program includes workshops and training on topics such as resume building, job opportunities in city government, financial literacy, college admissions, and Q&A with city leaders, including the city manager. https://is.gd/EDp5U9

~  2019 is the 10 year anniversary of the new Library building. To celebrate, the Monrovia Public Library will be labeling social media posts and promotional materials with #mpl10 and with this design created by Youth Services Librarian, Anush Balayan.

~  There will be an informational meeting about the Monrovia Community Garden on Saturday, April 13 in the Library Community Room from 9-10:30 a.m. The Garden is a joint project between the city and Mountainside Communion Church, and the garden will be on the church property. There will be private raised beds for rent, educational workshops, community engagement, and public demonstration gardens.

- Brad Haugaard

Josie - A Royal, But Doesn't Need a Castle

Josie (A473564) is a cool cat that has yet to be impressed by us hoomans. We've wined and dined her, presented her with gifts galore and even performed our brilliant song and dance numbers, but nothing has captured her attention! One of her den neighbors, told his friend, who told PHS staff that she is of royal descent. Josie is a gorgeous, elegant feline, but the royalty rumor has not been substantiated. We do know that she's 6 years old, truly a beauty, but definitely not the cat to get the party started. Our shy "Royal" Josie needs a best friend she can trust and a peaceful forever home. Note: new home need not be a castle.

The adoption fee for cats is $90. All cats are spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated before being adopted.

New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and- wellness exam from VCA Animal Hospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for your pet. View photos of adoptable pets at pasadenahumane.org.

Adoption hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone calls or email.

- Brad Haugaard

Rebates Available for Replacing Grass With Low-Water Landscaping

If you are thinking of replacing some or all of your grass with low-water landscaping, Metropolitan Water District is offering a $2 per square foot rebate on your landscaping costs. Details here.

- Brad Haugaard

City Council: Next 'Neighborhood Treasure' is Japanese American Community; Federal Recreation Area Overlapping Monrovia

Proposed plaque honoring Japanese American community.

At its next meeting the Monrovia City Council will ...

~ Consider spending up to $15,500 for a plaque commemorating Monrovia's Japanese American community, the latest in the Neighborhood Treasures series. Called "Pioneers of Monrovia," the plaque, which will be mounted on a post in a neighborhood near Huntington Drive "commemorates the history of Japanese Americans in Monrovia, who made significant advancements for local agricultural and business interests." It also remembers their internment after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. Ten proposals were submitted and the Allocation of Art in Public Places Committee unanimously selected the proposal by Maryrose Mendoza. Installation is scheduled to take place the week of May 13. https://goo.gl/bcYfXS

~  Hear a report on a proposed bill by Senator Kamala Harris, which would mirror Congress member Judy Chu's proposal in the House of Representatives, to create a recreation area in the mountains behind Monrovia, and which would overlap a bit into the city itself. https://goo.gl/cTkEmV

- Brad Haugaard

City Council to Discuss Two Monrovia Properties

Property on Highland that is under discussion.

In a closed session meeting before next Tuesday's regular Monrovia City Council meeting, the council will meet to discuss "price and terms" for two properties:

1. The parking lot at 217 E. Lime, on the north side of the street about a block and a half east of Myrtle. The city is negotiating with Overton Moore Properties, which is "a premier full service commercial real estate company," according to the company's web site.

2. A large property at 347 Highland Place, in north Monrovia and, interestingly, adjacent to the Hillside Wilderness Area.

In both instances it is unclear who the buyer is and who is the seller is. I could guess but I won't.

https://goo.gl/1V47Tj

- Brad Haugaard

Lunch at Something Healthy Cafe

Lunch at Something Healthy Cafe , on the east side of Shamrock just north of Huntington. Got the Southwest Salad for $9.25 and for $2.25 upgraded from a bag of chips to a cup of coconut curry soup. Nice outdoor seating for pleasant days. The food was really excellent! Why don’t I come here more often?

- Brad Haugaard 

Spring Library Book Sale in May

On Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19 the Friends of the Monrovia Public Library will hold its Spring Book Sale. (Members get to pick through books the day before, if you want to join.) Hundreds of books for all ages for sale at rock-bottom prices. Friday noon to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., and from 4-5 p.m. for the $5-a-Bag sale. https://goo.gl/orgVCA


- Brad Haugaard