Shopping Spree

GLENDALE ? Standing outside the Glendale Galleria Mervyns early Saturday morning was an eager crowd gathered on the sidewalk before opening hours. But with the busiest shopping day of the year more than two weeks past, these shoppers were not there to beat the holiday rush. And when the front doors of the store opened, 27 children would roam through the store on a one-hour, $100 shopping spree. The "Holiday Child Spree," put on through a cooperation between Burbank Jaycees, the Burbank Temporary Aid Center and Mervyns, gave underprivileged children a chance to stock up on much-needed winter clothes, just in time for the holidays, said Burbank Jaycees President Elana Edelstein.

Buck Wargo GLENDALE -- The Glendale Rose Float Assn. will host its second annual Spring Tea and Shopping Spree on April 9. The event runs from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Road. Admission to the shopping spree is free. The tea, which starts at noon, costs $15 for adults and $7.50 for children. There will be sandwiches, pastries and entertainment from student musicians. Door prizes will be raffled, including two custom-built Victorian doll houses and a $75 gift certificate from the Doll House Lady.

With lights flashing and sirens blaring, Glendale firefighters roared into the Americana at Brand Monday night and whisked away brothers Juan and Gerardo Rodriguez. The maneuver wasn't part of an emergency rescue, but rather the fulfillment of a wish, the 10th such wish to be granted this holiday season by the Make a Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. Both brothers, who live with their family in Inglewood, are being treated at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for life threatening illnesses.

Judy Seckler DOWNTOWN -- The Zany Brainy Glendale store is weaving fun and violence awareness into a special weeklong happening for children. The chain is celebrating its company expansion from 100 to 188 stores over the last year with the absorption of the Noodle Kidoodle stores. A week of special activities is planned, said Meredith Emmanuel of KidStuff Public Relations. "It's exciting and we've decorated the store more than usual," Zany Brainy Assistant Manager Brian Spindler said.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- This shopping spree could help feed hundreds of people. Glendale's KRLA-AM (870) is holding an on-air auction on Thursday to benefit the Easter Meals Program of the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. Talk-show host Larry Marino will conduct the auction, which will include everything from trips to meals to sports memorabilia. The event will be broadcast from 5 to 7 p.m. The auction will continue from 7 to 8 p.m. on the station's Web site: www.newstalk870.

Gary Moskowitz SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- The heat will be on at the Glendale Galleria on Saturday. The Galleria's first "Beat the Machine Electronic Dance Contest" will begin at 2 p.m. in The Zone on the third level of the Galleria, 2168 Glendale Galleria. Sign-up for the event begins at 1 p.m. Two contestants dance on an electronic dance machine at the same time. Dancers receive points from the machines as well as judges. The dancer with the highest score will win a $200 shopping spree in The Zone.

Karen S. Kim Local teens with a sense of style and a penchant for shopping are invited to participate in the Zone at Glendale Galleria's "Design A Tee" contest. The winning design will be printed onto shirts and sold at a store in the Zone in the fall, with proceeds going to benefit the winner's school or favorite charity. The winner will also receive a $100 shopping spree in the Zone. "We've found that what's most effective in keeping these kids interested in a place like the Zone is giving them the opportunity to show their individuality and express themselves," said Annette Bethers, senior marketing director for the Galleria.

What's in a name? For one Glendale resident, $1,000. Caruso Affiliated Holdings, the developer for the Town Center, is conducting a naming contest for the proposed 15.5-acre residential and commercial campus in downtown Glendale. The winner of the contest, which is open to Glendale residents, will receive a $1,000 shopping spree, and the company will donate $1,000 to a Glendale school of the winner's choice. Caruso Affiliated is taking submissions by mail at Caruso Affiliated Holdings, 101 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036, or by e-mail at names@glendaletowncenter.

Parents may not believe their ears. Their kids will be clamoring for books. Holy Redeemer's annual Scholastic Book Fair will take place from Oct. 25 to Oct. 30, and this year's theme is Reading Rain Forest: Wild for Books. According to vice principal and chairperson of this popular event, Mrs. Flo Bacurin, about 600 books will be available for purchase, along with posters, bookmarks, pens and other items. There is a class preview day when all the students have an opportunity to examine the mini-bookstore that is mounted in the school's library.

The folks who stayed to the bitter end of the Glendale City Council's nearly 10-hour showdown over the proposed Town Center development were treated to quite a show, including a film premiere, announcement of a new name for the project and about 180 speakers. What they didn't see was the end to the four-year effort to approve a new open-air shopping mall for the Glendale central business district. General Growth Properties, by many on hand the group designated as the villain in this smackdown, officially protested the project, along with tenant Robinsons-May.

With lights flashing and sirens blaring, Glendale firefighters roared into the Americana at Brand Monday night and whisked away brothers Juan and Gerardo Rodriguez. The maneuver wasn't part of an emergency rescue, but rather the fulfillment of a wish, the 10th such wish to be granted this holiday season by the Make a Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. Both brothers, who live with their family in Inglewood, are being treated at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for life threatening illnesses.

GLENDALE — Alexa Moreno finished her school shopping under budget, so she returned to scour the aisles of Target on Tuesday, looking for more back-to-school supplies. She found a dolphin binder, which she said would be among the more critical items when she begins her first day of school in fewer than three weeks. "I got a lot of stuff, a lot a lot," the Edison Elementary School first-grader said. "I wanted lots of things because I like school and shopping. " By the end of the day, the Glendale Galleria Target had donated at least $2,550 in school supplies and clothes.

GLENDALE ? Standing outside the Glendale Galleria Mervyns early Saturday morning was an eager crowd gathered on the sidewalk before opening hours. But with the busiest shopping day of the year more than two weeks past, these shoppers were not there to beat the holiday rush. And when the front doors of the store opened, 27 children would roam through the store on a one-hour, $100 shopping spree. The "Holiday Child Spree," put on through a cooperation between Burbank Jaycees, the Burbank Temporary Aid Center and Mervyns, gave underprivileged children a chance to stock up on much-needed winter clothes, just in time for the holidays, said Burbank Jaycees President Elana Edelstein.

Michele MacNeal began Monday morning with an empty garage. By next week she expects it will be filled with several thousand shoeboxes. But MacNeal is not a shoe aficionado, nor is she going on a shopping spree — the boxes are not even for her. MacNeal is collecting children's gifts at her La Crescenta home as part of Operation Christmas Child, a project of an international charity called Samaritan's Purse. The project collects gifts wrapped in a shoebox for needy children throughout the world.

Parents may not believe their ears. Their kids will be clamoring for books. Holy Redeemer's annual Scholastic Book Fair will take place from Oct. 25 to Oct. 30, and this year's theme is Reading Rain Forest: Wild for Books. According to vice principal and chairperson of this popular event, Mrs. Flo Bacurin, about 600 books will be available for purchase, along with posters, bookmarks, pens and other items. There is a class preview day when all the students have an opportunity to examine the mini-bookstore that is mounted in the school's library.

Sidewalk contest is off to a great start It would seem that our good neighbors throughout the city of Glendale are indeed on the trail of the oldest sidewalk contractor imprints. On day two of the Glendale Sidewalk Treasure Hunt Contest more than a dozen and a half responses had already come in by mail and telephone from all across the city. We have even received two responses from residents who do not live in the city of Glendale, but have found sidewalk contractor imprints in the unincorporated part of La Crescenta (unfortunately the contest as stated applies to the city of Glendale)

Pedestrians will soon have a chance to find the oldest sidewalk in the city. The Montrose Shopping Park Assn. is sponsoring a month-long contest to find the oldest sidewalk contractor imprint beginning Aug. 15 . "There is no comprehensive list of these imprints," association President John Drayman said. "We will find out what the oldest is. We do know they go back to the early teens and '20s." The association was inspired by a letter to the editor in the Glendale News-Press by Robert Thompson seeking more interest among residents in the community's local history, Drayman said.