Flash mob

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The failed attempt to serenade Christmas shoppers Monday with a performance of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" would have been the Sacramento region's largest "flash mob."

But with Westfield Galleria officials already in the loop and so much pre-event publicity, it's worth debating whether the Sacramento Choral Society's attempted "random act of musical kindness" would even qualify as a flash mob.

In the purest sense, "flash mobs" are pranks or improvisational performances that catch other people at the venue completely by surprise. In some cases, performers have been arrested in their attempts at humor.

Uniformed firefighters helped evacuate the Christmas-bloated mall Monday evening after an estimated 5,000 people crowded the Roseville, Calif., mall's food court expecting to see a show. The evacuation made international headlines.