Jacqui Brown
Al Moen spent some of his time hiding from his workout buddies
Thursday night at the "Taste of Downtown Burbank."
He and his friends spend as much as three times a week working out
at the Burbank Community YMCA, so he didn't want them seeing him
cheat.
After confessing to hitting up the chocolate samples three times,
tasting the ice cream and downing some fudge, he made peace with the
fact that this was all for a good cause -- to raise money for the
YMCA.
"We're all hiding how much we're eating," Moen said. "But it's OK
because we'll all be back working it off on the treadmill in a day or
so."
Moen and his wife Lori have lived in Burbank for 40 years and have
attended previous "Tastes" in the past, but they agreed that
organizers made a good choice making it an outdoor event instead of
stuffing 50 or more people at a time into participating restaurants
as has happened in the past.
Brian Madden, director of the Burbank YMCA, was ecstatic as he
watched the crowd grow throughout the evening.
"Our scholarship (costs) run between $150,000 and $175,000 per
year, that's a big chunk of change," Madden said. "Our philosophy is
that we will never turn anyone away. If we didn't have the funds we'd
still find a way to get that child into the program because that's
what we're all about."
The Alley Cats and their smooth doo-wop sound had nearly every
child on their feet singing and dancing as they mixed familiar movie
themes like the "Lion King" into their repertoire.
KLAC-AM (570) morning disc jockey Brad "Martini" Chambers
introduced the four contestants for the radio station's monthly
Fabulous Finds Talent Contest. Tomoko Miyata of Glendale took top
honors for the event with her sultry rendition of "Over The Rainbow."
Abelardo "Abo" Velasco had no qualms about paying $25 for good
food in order to support a great program. In fact, he recalled
playing on the Burbank YMCA's flag football team some 30 years ago.
"The food is excellent, the music is good and we're having a great
time," Velasco said. "The YMCA is a great program for the youth and
the community."
Every restaurant that participated was happy to see familiar faces
as well as many new ones sampling the food.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory made a sort of early debut. The
sisters who own it, Zizette Ayad and Dalia Leon, are set to open
their new chocolate shop in November.
"Everyone is excited to see us come to Burbank," Ayad said. "I've
lived in Burbank for 22 years and I'm glad to be part of the
community."
Along with a $1,000 donation from each sponsor -- California
National Bank, Glen Oaks Escrow and The Olson Company -- it was
estimated that the event raised more than $21,000.
