Judy Llam, Lu Gan, Karina Lee and Margaret Liang greeted the residents and their guests during the second annual festival held at Barnes Park on October 3rd.

The geranium is the official flower of Monterey Park. The volunteers were selling them to the public.

A dog’s rest room was set up by the stage keeping with this year’s theme “going to the dogs”.  Several dog-watering stations were available for the guests of honor.

Councilmember Teresa Real Sebastian was the first person to be dunked at the event.  The audience paid to dunk her in a water tank as part of the fundraiser for our 100th birthday party in 2016.

Children of all ages enjoyed the Trackless Train that rode around and around in the park.

Sophia and Jessica posed for this picture to show off Jessica Ramos’ artwork. She is a well-know face-painting artist in town. For more information on her services please call 626-632-8338.

Members of the fire department educated the residents on sidewalk CPR.  They showed them how to safely handle their gas meter, electric circuit box and hot water tank in case of an emergency at their CERT trailer. They provided safety information booklets.

Members of the police department provided safety information booklets to the public.

Children of all ages joined in the Hula Hoop contest.

Police Captain Gene Harris challenged the fire department to dunk him.  The firefighters enjoyed the process.

Athens Services, Mark Keppel students, Monterey Park Golf Course, Lucy Foundation, East Los Angeles College and Los Angeles Astronomical Society had booths to provide education and services to the crowd.

The water balloon toss was a welcome game on this hot afternoon.

Volunteers Julia Villagran, Terry Valenzuela and Edward Garcia worked the ticket booth.

Members of the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library booth taught the children to create corner bookmarkers in the shape of animals. They also had books for sale.

Firefighters joined with the children in a highly contested game of musical chairs.

Students from Mark Keppel showed the children how to create clay paw prints in keeping with the theme “going to the dogs”.

City Manager Paul Talbot took his turn in the dunk tank.

Members of the K-9 team Agent Peter Palomino with Robin and Officer Ryan Esquibel with Piro introduced themselves to the residents. Their canine officers are Belgian Malinois who were born and raised in Holland. They are trained in police work. They take their commands in Dutch.  Currently Monterey Park has three canine officers in service.

The officers took questions from the audience.  They were not able to show their dogs in action because of the numerous dogs in the park for the party.

The children received gold police badges and red fire helmets as they enjoyed the day.

Fire Chief Scott Haberle was dunked by several of his staff members.

Battalion Chief Randy Harper followed his boss into the tank.

The Obstacle Course was a favorite of the younger set. They climbed up and down and all around.

Home Depot’s booth helped the children create toy trucks and picture frames. Some of the children painted their trucks and picture frames.

Assistant City Manager Ron Bow was ready to be dunked in the water. The water would be recycled by the staff at the end of the event.

Judges Vickie Banando, Monica Trujillo and William Estrada were ready for the famous “Dog Costume Contest”.

Judge Jake took command of the stage. Charlie was dressed as a pirate. Shadow was wearing the Scorpion costume. Chloe was a good witch. Bebe was also dressed as a good witch. Bell showed off her costume with her humans. Lucky enjoyed the attention.

The judges admitted they had a hard time making their decisions. They thanked all of the participants in this contest.

The winners were: Bebe, Chloe and Bell with their humans. They each received an award.

Human Resources Technician Sean Chavez enjoyed his time in the water, as the afternoon grew hotter.

Now it was time for the Dog Personality Contest as the judges watch each dog and their human cross the stage. The humans spoke about their dog and why their friend should win an award. Bruno enjoyed the attention. Peaches smiled at the judges. Jeffrey handled his humans on stage. Bear filled the stage with his presence. Rico was happy to share the stage with his brother.

The judges again admitted they had a hard time making their decisions. They thanked all of the participants in this contest.

The winners were: Bear, Bruno and Peaches with their humans. They each received an award.

Code Enforcement Supervision Bill Stecyk was happy to share the water seat on the hot afternoon.

Councilmember Teresa Real Sebastian introduced the committee: Dan Costley, Robert Aguirre, Margaret, Evelyn, Jessica, Tammy, Terry, Elizabeth and Julia to the audience. She thanked them for making this event special.

Adults participated in the Pie Eating Contest. They ate apple pies, cherry pies and more with their hands behind their backs. Willis won first place. Javier and Paul came is second and third place.  They each received a coupon for a free slice of Marie Callender’s pie.

The kids enjoyed the Ice Cream Eating Contest. They dived into dishes of vanilla ice cream with their hand behind their backs.  Rudy, Thomas and Aaron won the contest. They each received a coupon for a free slice of Marie Callender’s pie.

City Clerk Vince Chang was happy that most people were attending the eating contests so he was not dunked as often as some of the other candidates.

The Watermelon Eating Contest was messy and enjoyed by children and adults.  They went face first in their slice of melon with their hands behind their backs. Jason, Mia and Emily won the contest. They each received a coupon for a free slice of Marie Callender’s pie.

Recreation Superintendent Robert Aguirre was the last member of the staff to be dunked as the event was coming to a close.

Children of all ages participated in the three-legged races and the sack races.

Dan Costley thanked every one for coming to our Second Annual Geranium Festival. He reminded everyone that Monterey Park would be 100 in 2016.