When did the Montrose holiday season last fall inside the hours the meters run? Look at the 2026 calendar. Oktoberfest closed Honolulu Avenue on Saturday, Oct. 3, and the Christmas Parade comes down the same street on Saturday, Dec. 5. Between those two, almost every marquee event lands on a Saturday or a weekday evening.
Glendale's posted schedule for Montrose parking lots 1 through 7 and for on-street spaces is Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the city's Montrose parking map. This spring the City Council also changed what those hours cost. That puts Montrose's busiest weeks of the year on top of a parking system the city is in the middle of rebuilding.
What the Council Approved in April
At its meeting on Tuesday, April 28, the Glendale City Council voted 3-2 for a Montrose parking package, as the Glendale News-Press reported. Here is what it includes:
- Honolulu Avenue: on-street parking goes from $1.50 an hour to $2.
- Wickham Way and Broadview Drive: paid parking expands onto parts of both streets.
- City-owned lots: parking in the lots will cost $1 an hour.
- Employees: low-cost permits for designated lots.
- Pay stations: 15 to 20 of them replace the single-space meters.
Glendale's municipal code now records the measure as Ordinance 6051, dated 4/28/2026. It lists the Montrose lots, Honolulu Avenue, Broadview Drive and Wickham Way among the meter zones.
The sources we reviewed don't say when the new rates and pay stations take effect on the street. The city's map shows hours but no prices, and the council coverage describes the package as approved, with equipment still to be bought. On any given evening this season, the posted sign at the curb or lot entrance is the authority.
Under the old setup, the only way to pay by credit card in Montrose was the PayByPhone app, according to city Parking Manager Tad Dombroski. The new pay stations will take cards directly. For a Wine Walk night with a tasting glass in one hand, that is a practical difference.
The Season Against the Posted Hours
The chart below sets each scheduled event against the posted Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. window. Glendale's code allows parking without payment outside the designated fee hours. It also lets the city manager waive or adjust rates for specific events. Oktoberfest advertised free parking. We found no announcement of a waiver for any of the events that follow it.
| Event | Date | Time | Relative to posted meter hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copy Network 35th-anniversary ribbon cutting, 3600 Ocean View Blvd. #9 | Thursday, Oct. 22 | 3 p.m. | Inside |
| Halloween Spooktacular, 2200–2400 blocks | Saturday, Oct. 31 | 5–7 p.m. | Inside |
| North Verdugo Road outreach pop-up at the Harvest Market | Sunday, Nov. 1 | 8 a.m.–1 p.m. | Outside |
| Holiday Wine Walk | Saturday, Nov. 14 | 5–8 p.m., check-in from 4 p.m. | Inside |
| Student Entrepreneur Fair, 2300 block | Sunday, Nov. 15 | Not listed | Outside |
| Tree lighting | Friday, Nov. 27 | Carolers 5:30 p.m., lighting 6:15 p.m. | Inside |
| Old Town Christmas activities | Saturdays and Sundays, Nov. 28–Dec. 20 | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Saturdays inside, Sundays outside |
| 48th Montrose-Glendale Christmas Parade | Saturday, Dec. 5 | 6:10 p.m. | Starts inside |
Four of the eight fall entirely inside the posted window, the parade starts inside it, and the Saturday half of the Old Town weekends sits inside it too. Three of the four evening events are on Saturdays. The tree lighting is on a Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
Why the Lots Are the Part That Changed Most
The Honolulu Avenue increase is 50 cents an hour. The bigger shift is in the city lots, which go from free to $1 an hour under the approved package. Those lots absorb the overflow on event nights, and the parking study behind the ordinance already found pressure in them.
The study was done by the engineering firm Transpo Group, first in 2019 and again in 2024. Dan McKinney, Transpo's managing principal, told the council that overall lot occupancy in Montrose has fallen since 2019. After the pandemic, though, lots 2, 4, 6 and 7 have higher occupancy and count as "hot spots." McKinney put the firm's view plainly: "more parking isn't necessarily needed, but more management is needed to kind of make sure that there is available parking where it is desired."
The money goes back to the lots. Dombroski estimated $50,000 to buy the pay stations and $300,000 a year in revenue once they are installed. He said that revenue is meant to go back into Montrose lots that have gone without maintenance, including possible EV chargers, repaved surfaces and improved ADA accessibility.
Not everyone agreed. During public comment, a Honolulu Avenue business owner warned that employees pushed into farther lots would end up parking in private business lots and on neighborhood streets. She described the district as "downtown Mayberry." Mayor Ardy Kassakhian, who voted yes, said: "We have asked staff to monitor this. We're going to look at what the impact will be, and we're going to talk to the merchants." The busiest stretch of the Montrose year is the first real test of that monitoring.
Sunday Is the Part of the Season the Meters Skip
Under the posted schedule, Sunday is the one day outside the meter window. In this season, Sunday mostly belongs to the Montrose Harvest Market, which runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. The association notes that hours are subject to change.
Three Sundays this fall carry more than the usual market:
- Nov. 1. The City of Glendale brings an outreach pop-up for the North Verdugo Road Improvements Project to the market at 2300 Honolulu Avenue, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The project runs from North Glendale Avenue to Honolulu Avenue. It covers pavement, sidewalks, curb ramps, bicycle facilities, lighting, signals and transit stops. Construction is tentatively set for summer 2027, so the pop-up is a design-stage conversation and not a construction notice.
- Nov. 15. The Montrose Shopping Park Association's one-day Student Entrepreneur Fair sets up high school vendors in front of Joselito's Restaurant on the 2300 block. Applications close Oct. 15, and students will be notified by Oct. 22.
- Nov. 29 through Dec. 20. The Sunday halves of the Old Town Christmas weekends run 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., overlapping the market's last two hours. The association lists complimentary horse-drawn trolley rides, Santa visits, live music and the Sunday Harvest Market among the activities.
Filling the Hours Between Events
Most of these events last two or three hours, and the meter clock runs from the moment you park. The stops below have current evidence that they're operating, with a specific reason to stop in this season.
Berolina Bakery, 3421 Ocean View Blvd. As of Oct. 8, 2026, its order site shows a Fall–Thanksgiving menu with Halloween-decorated cookies, fall pies and a pumpkin muffin marked "Available NOW." The menu isn't dated, so call ahead before planning around a specific item.
Toasted Cafe, 2420 Honolulu Ave. Toasted's menu includes an Apple Pie toast with warm apples and nutmeg, plus a seasonal beverage flight that changes over time. It sits on the 2400 block, inside the Halloween Spooktacular footprint.
Black Cow Cafe, 2219 Honolulu Ave. Black Cow serves a comfort-food menu from morning to night and offers online pickup ordering. On a parade or tree-lighting evening, that means dinner before the street fills.
Sabrina's Pizzeria Napoletana, 2200 Honolulu Ave. Sabrina's opened in April 2025. The Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber held its ribbon cutting in June 2026, alongside one for Perlas Ice Cream Shop, according to Crescenta Valley Weekly. Sabrina's takes reservations, which helps on a night when the 2200 block is crowded.
It Takes A Village Kids, 2317 Honolulu Ave. This children's clothing boutique is one of the in-store ticket outlets for the Holiday Wine Walk. Copy Network on Ocean View is the other. The $55 ticket includes 15 tasting tickets, a souvenir glass and $10 in MSPA scrip to spend at Montrose businesses. The participating-merchant list on that page is still labeled 2025, so check for an updated roster before mapping a route.
Atavola Cheese Shop is the name to watch. On Oct. 1 the Chamber described its storefront as "soon-to-open" and announced an Oktoberfest pop-up in front of it. If it opens before December, it will be the newest stop on the Wine Walk or parade route.
The Night That Tests It Most
The last big event of the season is the Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 5. It's the 48th edition, and it starts at 6:10 p.m., 110 minutes before the posted meter window closes. We found nothing showing that the date, time or format changed from earlier years. The parking rules around it were rewritten this year. Whatever the posted signs say on Honolulu Avenue, Wickham Way, Broadview Drive and in lots 2, 4, 6 and 7 that evening is what applies.
For a Montrose household, these Saturdays are also when the street sees its biggest crowds. Owners thinking about how a home near Honolulu Avenue would show during the season, or how parking and event traffic affect a listing calendar, can talk it through privately with Thomas Atamian + Associates. Glendale's event calendar shapes more than Montrose, as our look at summer on Brand Boulevard showed. Request a Confidential Consultation, and we'll go through the dates with you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
