Community Corner
Celebrity Sightings: Erik Estrada at Meijer—While Blessing the Bikes
While on his way to the "Blessing of the Bikes" at Mooseheart, television actor Erik Estrada stops for some groceries.
This just in ...
OK, actually it was "just in" on Saturday, and I just now saw it in my inbasket. (Note to self: Catch up on e-mails.)
Alert Patch reader Melanie Gayton sent in these photos with a note:
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"Erik Estrada was in Meijer today because he is filming at documentary on Mooseheart and doing something at the motorcycle place in St. Charles."
Turns out, Estada was in town as the 2013 guest rider for the 10th anniversary "Blessing of the Bikes" celebration at Mooseheart. The campus was the scene for a celebration centered around the blessing of motorcycle bikes and riders delivered at noon at the Mooseheart House of God.
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This blessing is the symbolic start to the riding season and a major fundraiser. In 2012, donations totaled $6,335 to Special Olympics and $10,795.75 to Moose Charities. Since 2006, fully $84,079 has been raised through the Bike Blessing: $3,700 to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, $18,878 to Special Olympics and $61,500 to Moose Charities, according to a Mooseheart press release.
Estrada, of course, is remembered for his role as Ponch in the mid-1970s series CHiPS.
One of Estrada’s passions is ridding society of child sexual predators. The organization he works with is Safe Surfin’ Foundation—which partners with and receives funding from the Moose organization. Estrada has been on Mooseheart’s campus previously; he has spoken at Moose conventions about his role with Safe Surfin’.
The "blessing" also explains the number of motorcycles you might have seen driving around town on Saturday. Attached here is a quick clip taken with my iPhone while I was picking up our daughters from music lessons.
