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Looking every bit like Munich, Honolulu Avenue was transformed last Saturday into an oompapa heaven as vendors sold traditional German food and drink to visitors from the community and beyond for the annual Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest. It is the only time of the year when wearing a chicken hat is in style, and everyone can count up to three (at least) in German. The chamber estimates that over 20,000 visitors attended the Montrose Oktoberfest. “We have had nothing but good feedback,” said Jim Bates, chief executive officer of the chamber.

Deukmejian Wilderness Park & Barn would be the perfect site for a wedding but for the city's ban on alcohol there, Councilman Laura Friedman said, recalling a recent visit. "If we really want to get the wedding business, we need to make sure people should be able to serve drinks," Friedman said at a City Council meeting this week. Her colleagues agreed, laying the foundation for amending the rules regarding alcohol on city property next week. "It's something that would be a revenue generator at a time when we need revenue," Friedman said.

Real Food Daily is a bit of an oasis in Pasadena. At the busy corner of Del Mar and Lake, the restaurant offers a sanctuary with wooden walls, soothing colors and a menu that just might help your body cope with the stressors of a busy life. The vegan restaurant is the sister of two others in Santa Monica and West Hollywood. It is the brainchild of Ann Gentry, a Tennessee native who served as personal chef to actor Danny DeVito after coming to Los Angeles in the 1980s. She started Real Food Daily as a home delivery service soon after and opened the Santa Monica restaurant in 1993.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- The Glendale zoning administrator will consider variances Wednesday for replacing an illegal fence and allowing beer and wine to be sold at a service station. The hearings will start at 9:30 a.m. in Room 105 of the Municipal Services Building, 633 E. Broadway. A resident is asking for a variance to replace in illegal fence with a wrought-iron guardrail along the street setback at 2465 E. Chevy Chase Drive. Andrew Paszterko of Los Angeles is seeking a conditional-use permit to allow beer and wine to be sold at a service station at 466 W. Broadway.

The Hometown Country Fair will take place this weekend at Crescenta Valley Park with lots of food, fun and community spirit. For the fourth annual fair, organizers decided to change not only the date — the event is usually held in September — but to add a day. For the first time the fair will open on Friday night and will include a beer garden donated by Anheuser-Busch/Budweiser. The gates will open at 3 p.m. for the carnival, the beer garden will begin serving at 4 p.m. The gates close at 9:30 p.m. on Friday.

Gary Moskowitz Expect ample amounts of lederhosen, sauerkraut and German beer along Honolulu Avenue next week. The Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce will host its 25th annual Montrose Oktoberfest from noon to 11 p.m. Oct. 5. The event is free. The family event will take place along the 2300 and 2400 blocks of Honolulu Avenue. Parking is available on nearby streets and in lots on either side of Honolulu. The event will include live polka performances, German cuisine and German beers, chamber President Stephanie Mines said.

The City Council this week voted to allow the sale of hard liquor, in addition to beer and wine, at several city parks and public facilities starting in 30 days, a move intended to make those venues more attractive to revenue-generating events. Officials plan to attract weddings and other parties to city facilities to increase revenue by allowing alcohol at sites such as Deukmejian Wilderness Park & Barn, Brand Park Tea House & Garden, the Catalina Verdugo Adobe and others. Burbank and Pasadena both limit alcohol consumption at city facilities to beer and wine, according to a city report.

If you drink beer and like R-rated comedies, grab a six-pack of your friends and head to the theater for the late summer comedy libation, "Beerfest." If you dislike barley and hops, steer clear of this film and be the designated driver. "Beerfest" is an off-the-wall movie about a group of guys who go to Germany to compete in a beer-drinking contest to save their family's secret beer recipe. Before they can beat the Germans, they must train to become expert competitive drinkers.

A man who shot a 17-year-old La Crescenta high school girl to death after her prom night celebration has been granted parole despite opposition from the Orange County district attorney's office. Paul Crowder has been in prison for nearly 20 years for fatally shooting Berlyn Cosman, a high-achieving student who had earned a college basketball scholarship to Missouri Western State University. Crowder was granted parole last year but then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reversed that decision.

Tim Willert CALMING TRAFFIC WHAT HAPPENED: The City Council voted to implement phase II of the city's neighborhood traffic calming master plan, which is designed to reduce traffic speeds in the residential area bordered by Brand Boulevard, Mountain Street, Glendale Avenue and Monterey Road. WHAT IT MEANS: The city will construct 10 speed humps and seven traffic circles on a test-case basis. "The traffic circles cause cars to have to slow down and deviate from their straight path, Public Works Director Kerry Morford said.