By Lillian BOODAGHIANS

It is not often that the neighborhood zip code coincides with a date, but for the La Crescenta zip code 91214, that day is just around the corner. Next Friday marks the date 9/12/14 and an opportunity to celebrate the La Crescenta area and its history in an event fittingly titled “Celebrating La Crescenta.”

The event will be a showcase of various sites around the La Crescenta area, the idea for which Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce President Steve Pierce attributes to CV Weekly Editor-In-Chief Robin Goldsworthy and her friend Ted Ferrara.

“Various locations will have tours and open houses that serve to highlight what we are blessed with here in La Crescenta,” said Pierce, who is on the committee for planning the event.

The sites included on the list range from those bearing historic significance, such as the American Legion Hall, to nature preserves such as Rosemont Preserve, and even informal community centers, such as the Crescenta Commons. Though all the sites can be driven past any time, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on 9/12/14 people will be able to drop by designated sites and participate in a small sponsored event being held.

“What we are trying to do is make it easy for the community to come out and celebrate our town,” said Robbyn Battles, president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council and also a Celebrate La Crescenta committee member.

The event will be presented almost as a driving tour of the La Crescenta area, with sites on a map that people can visit at their own pace and preference. Battles explained that the idea of a driving tour came organically through discussion with the committee, which also included Jean Maluccio, advisor to the CV Chamber of Commerce, and Mary O’Keefe, senior reporter at the Crescenta Valley Weekly.

“As we talked about [Celebrating La Crescenta more], we thought let’s have it make sense on a map, so if you’re coming home from work or only have a couple of minutes, you can drop by and see some of the sites,” said Battles.

Pierce spoke of the historical aspects of the event.

“One of the sites on the list is St. Luke’s church, on which sits the Fire House youth center. The youth center actually was the location of one of the first fire stations in La Crescenta.”

Pierce also mentioned in talking about the featured spots the history of the American Legion Hall, whose location had to be changed after the great flood of 1934, and of the La Crescenta Woman’s Club, one of the oldest organizations in the La Crescenta area, established over 100 years ago.

The event will also celebrate La Crescenta’s future, one such celebration happening at the Crescenta Commons. The location, which used to be a small dirt lot on the corner of Rosemont and Orange avenues, is being transformed into a community gathering spot. The event being held at the Commons for Celebrating La Crescenta seeks to embody the community spirit.

“At the Crescenta Commons, we will have a 75-foot scroll that members of the community will be able to sign and which we are going to put in a time capsule that will be buried once the monument at the Commons is finished,” said Battles.

As for the goal of the event, Pierce said, “We hope that people will get out of their homes, get away from their normal day-to-day activities, and take the time to appreciate what we have in our community.”

Be sure to look for the Celebrating La Crescenta site map in next week’s issue of the Crescenta Valley Weekly.

  Lillian BOODAGHIANS