More than a thousand people — but no protestors — lined up to hear Bristol Palin deliver the opening keynote address of the two-day LoveFest 9 at 9:15 a.m. this morning. The crowds filled all the chairs inside the big tent at Our Savior Lutheran Church at 512 W. Duarte Road and spilled out to several more rows of chairs and standing room only on the lawn outside the tent from where Palin was barely visible on the stage from the bright sun outside.

Out of concern about potential distractions to Palin’s remarks, media was prohibited and signs were posted barring any recording or videotaping but officials were kind enough to allow ArcadiasBest.com limited access.
Event co-chairman Alison Sweeney said that Palin’s keynote drew the biggest crowd but that about 875-900 attendees were still at the conference that evening. The program draws many visitors to Arcadia — about two-thirds are from other parts of California outside the San Gabriel Valley, rom San Diego to Sacramento, — and dozens come from out-of-the-state (Washington, Oregon, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee) and even from Canada, she said. About a third are from the local region, with a percentage of those from Arcadia along with Monrovia, Pasadena, Duarte, Glendora, and Temple City.
Catch a brief part of Palin’s address in the video below…

Legendary Hall of Fame jockeys Eddie Delahoussaye , Don Pierce, Laffit Pincay Jr., Gary Stevens and Mike Smith will serve as honorary captains at the 44th annual Holy Angels/Santa Anita Jockeys Charity Basketball Game at La Salle High School in Pasadena, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24.
Proceeds will benefit the Holy Angels athletic department and the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF).
This year’s Santa Anita jockey squad figures to include: Captain David Flores, Pedro Arambula, Paul Atkinson, Rafael Bejarano, Alex Bisono, Brice Blanc, Antonio Castanon, Victor Espinoza, Martin Garcia, Kerwin John, Edwin Maldonado, Corey Nakatani, Iggy Puglisi, Alonso Quinonez, Joel Rosario, Christian Santiago Reyes, Chantal Sutherland, Mike Smith, Kayla Stra, Joe Talamo, Patrick Valenzuela and perhaps others.
The jockeys will be on hand to autograph memorabilia from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the La Salle High gymnasium.
La Salle High School is located at the southwest corner of Michillinda Ave. and Sierra Madre Blvd., approximately four miles from Santa Anita.
Admission is $5.
“This has been a great event over the years and we always have a lot of fun with it,” said jockey David Flores, who will again serve as game captain for the jockeys. “What’s really exciting about this year is that for the first time, we are going to include the Disabled Jockeys Fund in our fundraising effort. Racing is a very, very dangerous sport and this means a lot to all of us in the racing industry.
“We want to do all that we can to try and help all of these people who have been hurt so badly. Just the fact that we are helping to draw attention to their situation is very important. We hope that everyone coming to the game this year will do what they can to help us help all of these jockeys who will never be able to ride again.”
Holy Angels, located just south of Santa Anita Park, on Huntington Drive, has partnered with Santa Anita on numerous charity events over the years.
“The jockeys and Santa Anita have been a huge support to Holy Angels over the past 50 years,” said Holy Angels Principal, Ted Carroll. “We are excited to be able to include the PDJF in this year’s game, and we are excited to be able to return the favor, finally.”
The PDJF, which was founded in 2006, provides financial assistance to professional jockeys (both Thoroughbred and quarterhorse) who have sustained serious injuries such as paralysis and brain trauma, which often result in permanent disabilities.
“The PDJF is very appreciative of the Santa Anita jockey colony and Holy Angels School for their support of this event, which will help bring awareness and funding for these programs,” said Nancy LaSala, Executive Director of the PDJF.
“Time and again jockeys in the United States have never wavered in their support of the PDJF,” said LaSala. “The participation of the Santa Anita jockey colony is another example of how these athletes, who share in both the excitement and danger of this sport remain committed to their fellow jockeys who are now leading much different lives.”
HRTV’s Kurt Hoover will again coach the jockey’s squad and despite having been defeated the past three years, is optimistic this year’s result will be different.
“If we can field a full-squad and pressure Holy Angels from the half court line, I think we’ve got a good shot,” said Hoover. “If we can rotate a steady supply of fresh horses, we can keep it close and I think we’ll have a good shot to win it. We’ve got some really good athletes and even though Holy Angels is quite a bit bigger, we should be able to make up for it with good defense and intensity.”

Bristol Palin will participate in a LoveFest in Arcadia on Feb. 12-13.
LoveFest 9 is the ninth annual event hosted by Our Savior Lutheran Church that brings together youth and adults to interact with experts about pressing issues facing teenagers.

Bristol Palin

This year’s program, themed “Empowered,” features keynote speakers Bristol Palin, Chad Eastham and Karen Kropf, and Dove Award-winning Group 1 Crew performing on Saturday, Feb. 12.
Topics of discussion will again include  abstinence, sex, and bullying, sexting, adoption, drug use, peer pressure, and gangs, body image, depression, raising adult children, and Internet dangers.
Palin, who recently became the Teen Ambassador for the Candie’s Foundation, which works to educate America’s youth about the consequences of teenage pregnancy, will speak about abstinence, faith, life and her very public teen pregnancy, the birth of her son Tripp and the challenges of balancing life as a mother and a teenager.
Author and Revolve Tour speaker Chad Eastman shares the stage with Bristol, as the resident expert on guys and relationships. Chad speaks to thousands of teens each year and is an author, column writer and teen culture expert for HealthyVisions.org. Chad will be speaking about his new book that will release at LoveFest called The Truth About Dating, Love and Just Being Friends
Karen Kropf, a LoveFest favorite, returns to examine how culture influences the kind of story our lives will tell. She will be teaching one of her most popular classes “Worth Waiting For” which reflects on how early decisions about sex and relationships carries on throughout our lives. Karen runs the non-profit Positively Waiting, which is a community outreach dedicated to revealing the positive benefits of sexual self-control.
Advance registration is required.
Tickets for LoveFest9: Empowered are $20 each and include lunch by In-N-Out Burgers as well as dinner by Peppers Mexican Restaurant. Seats are limited. Call (626) 447-7690 for registration information.

– By Scott Hettrick

The award-winningfamous “Bling” barbershop quartet will be back for another performance this year at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, at the Lutheran Church of the Cross, 66 W. Duarte Road (next to Arcadia Masonic Center, two doors west of Arcadia Public Library).

In addition to the group that has been declared by its peers to be one of the top barbershop quartets in the Southwestern United States. the program will include a performance by a top-rated choral group called “The New Gang on the Corner”(see 85-second video highlights of last year’s program).

Following the program there will be a free ice cream social in the church’s Fellowship Hall.

For more information, call 626-447-7232 or e-mail lccross@sbcglobal.net.

This week’s City Council agenda preceded by closed session with legal counsel re: lawsuits against city by Westfield and Arcadia First…