Scenes From the Mall : Business: Many shopping centers are promoting themselves as community gathering places. Some have hosted events from outside--including TV shows.

For two weeks this summer, part of the Glendale Galleria was filled with music, cheering crowds, lights, cameras and action--transformed into the backdrop for “Born Lucky,” a television game show.

Produced for a national cable channel, “Born Lucky” called on Galleria shoppers to perform silly stunts--such as sticking as many hairbrushes in their hair as possible--to compete for up to $2,000 in mall gift certificates.

As the contestants donned costumes, answered questions, and played several musical instruments simultaneously, an enthusiastic audience of shoppers shouted encouragement. The participants loved it.

“I had a great time,” said Mary Lou Grisanti, a 49-year old Connecticut resident who won a $200 gift basket and $80 in gift certificates.

Last weekend, the Galleria played host to the Los Angeles area’s auditions for the television show “Star Search.” Over a two-day period, about 800 prospective contestants sang, danced and told jokes on a stage, entertaining shoppers while trying to win a spot on the show.

Events such as these--generating so much noise and hullabaloo--probably would not have been welcomed at many malls five years ago. But with the faltering economy and less money to stage promotional events, Galleria managers welcomed the production companies.

“We got a few complaints, but the value to the center and the merchants overall far exceeded any inconvenience,” said Nicolette Abernathy, the Galleria’s marketing director. “It’s a nice gift for us to be able to give our customers.”

Like the rest of Southern California’s business community, shopping malls are being hard hit by the recession. In the first quarter of this year, Galleria sales were down 10% compared to the same period a year ago. Statewide, taxable retail sales of all types fell 3.8% last year. And in the first quarter of this year, sales were down 3% from the year before. Financial analysts predict the drop will continue, possibly through 1993.

In the midst of all this, the Galleria and malls around the San Gabriel Valley are looking for other new ways to promote their shopping centers. Because the malls have less money to spend on staging elaborate events, such as their own fashion shows, they are trying to sell their facilities as community centers responsive to the social needs of area residents.

“If your customers feel good about your property because of what you do for the community, then the money they do have to drop, they will drop in your center,” explained Christi Woodards, president of the Southern California Marketing Directors Assn.

Many area shopping centers--including the Puente Hills Mall, Santa Anita Fashion Center and The Plaza at West Covina--have developed elaborate children’s clubs, which regularly provide free puppet shows, story hours, arts and crafts workshops and other entertainment once more commonly found at parks and libraries.

The free children’s programs often have drawn hundreds of participants and their parents.

“Education is being cut so bad,” said Tracey Gotsis, marketing director for The Plaza. “They’re taking out music, athletics and other programs that enhance their socializing. Our programs give them a chance to enhance their skills.”

At Kids Co., the club in the Galleria, children are working on a rap music video. The production, scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, is being created with footage taken at meetings held once a month.

“People are really into their kids,” said Tamara Ostler, assistant marketing director at Santa Anita Fashion Park in Arcadia. “They want to be with their kids, and we can provide a place where they can do that.”

Two years ago, Fashion Park also opened a licensed day-care center, where parents could leave their children--for a fee--as long as they were shopping.

Some malls are starting to collaborate with nonprofit organizations to stage fund-raisers for social causes, Woodards said. Once seen as a distraction from shopping, fund-raisers are now viewed by some as another means of luring people into the facilities.

The Puente Hills Mall recently held a baby photo contest in conjunction with the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. Shoppers paid $1 to vote for their favorite baby, raising nearly $500 for the charity, said Christine Carpenter, the mall’s assistant marketing director.

“It worked out very well,” she said.

In the past couple of years, many malls have also opened their doors to public service-oriented informational events, including health and job fairs.

Nearly 2,000 children received free immunizations during a health fair at The Plaza last month, Gotsis said. Santa Anita Fashion Park also sponsors an annual health fair.

For mall marketing directors, the new interest in social services is a pragmatic reaction to the ‘90s, after the unbridled consumerism of the ‘80s.

“Five years ago, we didn’t have to worry about those things because everybody was shopping, everybody had a job and everybody was fine,” Gotsis said. “Times are tough now, and we have to be more aware of what’s going on.”

Ostler added, “People’s values are changing. People aren’t buying as much as they used to, and they are more family- and community-oriented than they used to be.”

Some malls are emphasizing that old recessionary virtue--shopping wisely and saving money.

Eagle Rock Plaza puts out a weekly, glossy brochure listing the sales at each store.

“This program really gets down to the basics,” said Karen Trimberger, the mall’s marketing director. “What people are looking for is value.”

Last year, Plaza Pasadena started a free gift-wrapping and delivery service. Shoppers can leave packages at the mall for wrapping and delivery within a five-mile radius. The service is available before most major holidays, including Christmas.

“It’s a costly program, but you generate a lot of goodwill,” marketing director Felice Beaulieu said.

So far, no statistics are available to show whether such efforts are boosting sales at the malls.

But marketing directors are confident the activities are drawing more people and fostering loyalty to individual shopping centers. Eventually, they believe, the tactics will pay off.

“You want the public to become as familiar with your property as possible,” Woodards said. “That way, when they do need to make a purchase, they are more apt to come to you first.”