"Twilight's" Peter Facinelli sweeps this teen off her feet. (Photo by Christine Leeland Pepple)

When I found out that “Twilight’s” Peter Facinelli would be making an appearance at our mall in order to raise money for Haiti relief, I was absolutely ecstatic. I kept building up high expectations in my mind of the event.

When I got to the mall on Saturday, my expectations were all met. As I walked through the mall, I saw many “Twi-Hards” ready to meet Dr. Cullen himself. Girls, and even a few guys, were clutching their “Twilight” books and merchandise, waiting for Peter’s autograph.

The lines were insane! There were thousands of people circling the mall all waiting for their chance to have a moment of one-on-one time with Facinelli.

People literally brought lawn chairs with them to mall because they were waiting for so long. By noon, anticipation was rising. Temecula’s radio station KATY was getting the crowd pumped up for the arrival of Dr. Cullen and the girls were screaming before he even arrived!

When he finally appeared on stage, girls of every age left their dads or boyfriends in line so they could catch a glimpse of the ever-so-handsome Peter Facinelli. And yes, some girls dragged their dads or their boyfriends along, but they were troopers through it all.

My friends and I took turns running to see him on stage and to take pictures of him so we wouldn’t lose our place in line. Slowly the lines started inching forward and my stomach started tossing and turning because I was so anxious to meet him and take my picture with him.

As the music blasted, every so often you would hear screams and cheers echo through the mall. That’s because Peter would wave or wink to the crowd. Other times, he would pose with girls who offered up their arms for him to “bite.”

Like I said, insane.

My favorite moment was when Peter took a break to stop and talk to the crowd. He grabbed the mic and said he was so grateful that we had all come out to support the fundraiser and that he wanted the world to know how awesome Temecula is.

So, he took out his camera phone and taped the crowd to post on his Twitter account – once for Temecula and the second time for his mom, when we all screamed, “We love you, Peter!”

When it was finally my turn, he immediately grabbed me and started dancing with me before we took our picture. He was exactly what I expected him to be. He was very friendly with all of his fans, giving hugs and talking with them before the next fan was brought on.

I think that this event was very successful  – all thanks to one man who knew he could make a difference in lives of those affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

Olivia Mabee is a frequent contributor to SWRNN.com

Tags: Dr. Cullen, Olivia Mabee, Peter Facinelli, SWRNN, twilight

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