A tribute was held in Orange County to say thank you to those who searched for Blaze Bernstein when he was missing and those who grieved with the Bernstein family after learning he was murdered. Christine Kim reports for the NBC4 News at 11 on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018.
The family of slain 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein held a "thank you" event Sunday with a public memorial to the Ivy League student and encouraged visitors to get involved with charity in the victim's honor.
Bernstein's funeral drew more than 850 mourners, but there were so many more who wanted to attend that the family planned a public memorial, said David Thalberg, who is handling publicity for the Bernstein family gathering.
"Basically, it's a thank you," he said. "That's the reason they're having this."
The event was held at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. It featured a variety of performances from Bernstein's former high school, the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, where he graduated in 2016. A barbershop quartet from the school reunited to sing the National Anthem at the event.
Bernstein's mother, Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, read a letter to her son, and his father, Gideon Bernstein, spokeabout his son's legacy with a speech titled, "Something Big is Happening Here -- Blaze's Legacy."
Creative writing students from the high school read some of Blaze's poems and other writings. His best friend, Maisy Menzies, also spoke about him.
As of Friday, 2,500 free tickets had been handed out for the venue, which seats 2,800, Thalberg said. Attendees were encouraged to bring canned goods, which will be donated to the Second Harvest food bank.
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Bernstein's accused killer, Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, also attended the same high school. He is next due in court March 2 for a pretrial hearing.
