Picnic

Saturday?s first local community church picnic and outreach at Crescenta Valley Park showed that there are many ways one can go down a slip ?n? slide. There?s the face up, face down, or with all four limbs up in the air approach. Some opted for the face first approach, or the big wipe out approach, where you don?t quite make it to the end and instead drift to the side a bit, ending up on the grass. For some, stalling out was inevitable if not enough momentum was achieved. No matter what the strategy, all these people had a smile on their face, and the slip ?

Pastors and congregants of the Crescenta Valley will be gathering at Crescenta Valley Park Aug. 23 for an inaugural church picnic and outreach. The event will feature a barbecue, a slip n? slide, and games such as a balloon toss, volleyball, softball, Frisbee, a sponge throw and more. Churches participating in the picnic include Christ Armenian Church; First Baptist Church, La Crescenta; St. Luke?s of the Mountains Anglican Church; and Christian Life Church. ?The picnic has a great chance in getting together pastors and congregants so they can enjoy time and fellowship with one another,?

Ten Years Ago The Women’s Council of Verdugo Hills Hospital and Foundation marked its 25th anniversary with a special luncheon held at Caltech’s Athenaeum.   Twenty Years Ago Members of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in La Crescenta celebrated silver jubilee of ministry for their pastor, the Rev. Gerald W. St. John. Approximately 200 guests attended the potluck event, during which he was presented with a video cassette recorder by appreciative church members.

BURBANK — The Burbank Democratic Club held its third annual picnic Saturday at Johnny Carson Park as its members talked politics and received updates from the region’s elected officials. The event, co-sponsored by the Democratic Clubs in Glendale and the northeast San Fernando Valley, featured talks from Rep. Adam Schiff, state Sen. Jack Scott, Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and gave members the opportunity to talk about the June 3 primary. “Were here to get out the vote,” Burbank Democratic Club President Janet Reynolds said.

It is back to school season, and most elementary schools have already had their annual picnics and many have hosted back to school night. The picnics are a great way for parents, teachers and students to get into the swing of school again after the long summer. This is the time that kids get to run free around their playgrounds, teachers get to see familiar faces and parents get that last little break. The picnics also offer an opportunity to sell school t-shirts and to introduce parents to organizations like PTA and foundations.

Though the school day had ended hours earlier, Kinder Playground was alive with activity Friday evening, as children hula-hooped and pedaled tricycles while the smell of something on the grill greeted new arrivals to Valley View Elementary School’s fall family picnic. The annual event is held to give students and their parents a chance to meet and interact with others in the school at the start of a new academic year, Valley View Principal Carla Walker said. “The purpose is to get the whole school community together to meet each other at the beginning of the year,” she said.

The smell of barbecue, sounds of swing music and the legend of Manchester Boddy drew hundreds of visitors from across the Los Angeles area to La Cañada?s Descanso Gardens Monday for Boddy?s Big Backyard, an annual event at the gardens. While children rode ponies and kids of all ages toured the gardens on the Enchanted Railroad, some families shared picnics on the lawn and listened to Verdugo Swing Society play music from the 1930s and ?40s. Others took time to smell the flowers in the rose garden or share a shady bench by the koi pond.

Verdugo Valley Baptist Church will enjoy an Ice Cream Social after its 7 p.m. July 1 evening service. And plans have been finalized for Verdugo Valley Baptist Church's annual Church Picnic to be held July 14 at Verdugo Park. There will be games for all ages, including volleyball as well as lots of food. Verdugo Valley Baptist Church's schedule of services: Sunday Prayer Service at 9:45 a.m. followed by morning Worship Service at 10:30 a.m. Children's Sunday School Class is also held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday evening service is at 5 p.m., as well as Wednesday night Bible Study/Prayer meeting is at 7 p.m. All services are held at First Lutheran Church, at 1300 E. Colorado St. in Glendale.

Spectators and car exhibitors agreed that the Road Kings 18th annual Picnic Car Show was a great outing for the whole family. There were at least 750 cars on display throughout Johnny Carson Park in Burbank on Sunday. The day kicked off with breakfast cooked up by the Burbank Kiwanis for Fun Club and singing of the national anthem by Elizabeth Chadwick, a 13-year-old who attends Luther Burbank Middle School. Parents and youngsters surrounded the booth of exotic animal ambassadors, making their debut from Busch Gardens and SeaWorld San Diego, which are owned by Anheuser Busch, the car show's largest corporate sponsor.