Santa Anita Park a prom hero

Santa Anita Park and event planner Elizabeth Booth are being hailed as heroes for saving a prom night for 400 anxious students who showed up a week earlier than scheduled. And the availability of the iconic Chandelier Room was the reason it all worked.

Chandelier Room during recent Chamber of Commerce Citizen of Year Dinner

Masses of formally-dressed students of Bloomington High School began rolling up to Santa Anita Park in limos at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, to the surprise of everyone at Santa Anita, which had a signed contract to host the prom at 8 p.m. on May 4. Booth, who was beginning to wind down her evening of activities, could not bear to turn away all those students who had driven 40 miles and were geared up for one of the most memorable evenings of their lives. (Can you imagine the cost of rentals for the limos and tuxes alone, let alone all those wasted corsages?) Booth sprang into action, mobilizing whatever staff she could hurriedly assemble to set up food, soda bar, entertainment, lighting, and security. Fortunately, the stately Chandelier Room is adorned 24/7 with elegant decor and a majestic look. Bloomington High School’s name was quickly posted on all the monitors in the room. One of the DJ’s working one of the two other proms being held the same evening in different rooms at the enormous Santa Anita Park volunteered to fill in for the Bloomington prom until another DJ could be recruited to work the four-hour event until midnight, as scheduled for a week later. It was also fortunate that the other two proms were being run by a sister company of the one that Bloomington had booked for theirs, First Class Events, Corona. First Class Events, Newport Beach, working the other two events, not only provided a temporary DJ, but also audio, computer system, speakers and music.

Student photo of prom at Santa Anita on April 27 courtesy of KABC-TV 7.

In slightly more than an hour, the students were admitted about 8:15 p.m. Although there was initial shock and disappointment, most students reported having a great time. (KABC-TV 7 video report.)

In a letter to Santa Anita, Bloomington High School Assistant Principal James Western said, “If it were not for the care, generosity and professionalism of Elizabeth Booth and Santa Anita Park, Bloomington High School would have left that evening with a complete disappointment. Thank you for your sacrifice and care. We truly appreciate all that you did for us.”

Student photo courtesy of KABC-TV 7

Cecilia Ridgeway, owner of First Class Events, Inland Empire, which also claims to have a signed contract with Bloomington for the May 4 date, wrote in a letter to the school that she was first called about the situation at 7:04 p.m., less than an hour before students expected the prom to begin. (The school’s Activities Director has reportedly taken complete responsibility for the mistaken date.) “…only a miracle could turn the situation around and there was only one hour make it happen,” she wrote. “Everyone involved went above and beyond all expectation. Santa Anita Park had no obligation to allow this event to take place. The true heroes in all of this… are Elizabeth Booth, Santa Anita’s Special Event Coordinator, Pete Siberell, Director of Special Projects, Santa Anita’s outstanding Catering Staff, their Employee’s, and Security Officers.” She said that all “worked tirelessly to ensure that Bloomington High School’s students had a Prom and quality one at that.”

— By Scott Hettrick