‘Twilight’s’ Peter Facinelli gives ‘Twi-hards’ something to remember

"Twilight's" Peter Facinelli greets throngs of fans at the Promenade Mall. (Photo by Christine Leeland Pepple)

Hearts fluttered and camera lens shuttered on Saturday at the Promenade Mall in Temecula, when “Twilight’s” favorite physician, Peter Facinelli, posed for pictures and signed autographs for miles of adoring fans.

Thousands of Southwest Riverside Twi-hards braved sheets of rain and crowded into the plaza for a glimpse of Facinelli. All waited patiently in lines that stretched in a seemingly endless queue throughout the mall.

The event was part of an effort to raise funds for UNICEF with a portion of the proceeds going towards helping the Haiti earthquake victims. At $25 for autographs and $40 for a photo, it is expected that a considerable sum will be raised to benefit the Haiti relief efforts.

As the crowds and the excitement grew inside the mall, Facinelli was focused and reflective as he answered questions from the media before the scheduled noon start time.

“I wanted to do something on my own for charity,” Facinelli said, explaining that he teamed up with friend Stephen Girard to find ways to help out the victims.

Facinelli said he has also been active with such charities as Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation that searches for cures for cancer for children and has also done a lot of work with the Red Cross.

“When you’re young, your world is small. It usually just includes parents and friends,” Facinelli said, noting the general age and interests of his Twi-hard audience. “But, eventually that (outlook) changes to ‘what can I do for the greater cause in society?’ The Twi-hard crowd is passionate about the (”Twilight” series), so I hope they will see from today that one person can make a difference in the world, if everyone pulls together.”

Katie Thayer, 26, of Hemet and friend Michelle Wagner, 25, of French Valley were among about 20 lucky KATY 101.3 FM winners who were treated to a VIP meet and greet with the star.

“I think it’s awesome, very cool. You don’t hear about a lot of movie stars doing this kind of thing,” said Thayer.

Peter Facinelli, who plays Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the famed "Twilight" series signs a lucky fans jeans. (Photo by Christine Leeland Pepple)

Facinelli debuted to the enthusiastic screams of fans who circled the stage and lined the mall six people deep. Others cheered and angled their cameras from the Level 2 balconies.

And, so it began. Facinelli chatted briefly, but amiably with each fan that was led to the stage, sometimes stopping to wave to the crowd, always offering a hug and a handshake.

Temecula-based photography studio, MVP Studios was on hand to take the 5 x 7 fan portraits that were then quickly printed for a stream of happy customers. Owner Andy Stockglausner said that they will be joining Facinellli again in Victoria Gardens for a similar charity event on Feb. 21.

To learn more about this and Facinelli’s upcoming movies and other artistic and philanthropic ventures, visit www.facinelli.com.

Kerri S. Mabee can be reached at ksmabee.swrnn@gmail.com with comments or questions. Follow me on Twitter at SWRNNaelife.

Tags: Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, Carlisle Cullen, Haiti, Kerri S. Mabee, Peter Facinelli, promenade mall, SWRNN, Twi-hards, twilight, UNICEF

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Local News, Movies . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.