Sarah Johnson was the most popular person at Queen's Park Arena on Monday afternoon.

Johnson clicked her shutter 448 times as hundreds of people paraded in to see the most popular item, a certain 16-kilogram silver chalice called the Stanley Cup.

Hometown hero Bill Ranford, goalie coach of the Los Angeles Kings, got his day with the cup Monday and for two hours, he had the cup on display at the arena where he honed his skills as a New Westminster Bruin. In fact, the cup was only metres from Ranford's favourite crease. From 4 to 6 p.m. at Queen's Park Arena, anybody with a $5 minimum donation had their picture taken with the Stanley Cup, with all proceeds going to the trampoline and hockey programs at the Royal City Alternate Program.

Johnson shot all the pictures that will be emailed to people and she couldn't contain her excitement.

"I love it when the city comes out," said Johnson. "It's been so much fun and everybody's been so happy. When they see the cup, you see how everybody smiles."

The person with one of the biggest smiles was 15year-old Matthew Kromm, who came with his grandmother Barbara at 1: 30 p.m. to make sure they got their pictures taken with the cup.

"We waited two-and-a-half hours and I'm so excited," said Matthew, who was proudly wearing a Vancouver Canucks hat. "I didn't want to miss it."

Grandma was equally as excited. "I read about the cup coming in The Record and I knew I had to come," said Kromm. "I couldn't believe it was coming to New Westminster so I told Matthew we were coming just after 1 p.m."

Before the Kromms could get their picture taken, Johnson had to check her camera settings so that meant Queen's Park employee Matt MacNeish was conscripted to pose with the Stanley Cup.

"Not many people get to hang out with the cup as part of their work," said MacNeish. "It's all part of the job, isn't it?"

While the Kromms were having their picture taken, it wasn't hard to see who in the lineup was really looking forward to their time with the Cup.

Chris and Christina Flaman, along with their daughters Kennedy, eight and Kaycia, 10, were all decked out in Jonathan Quick LA Kings jerseys.

"I am so excited about this," said Chris. "It's been a dream year as a Kings fan."

Chris is such a die-hard fan that he flew his family down to Los Angeles for the Stanley Cup parade in midJune.

"The parade was a dream of mine since I was young," he said. "I also wanted a chance to meet Bill and it's been really great to be a part of this."

With Ranford winning his first two cups as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, it was natural to see orangewhite-and-blue Oilers jerseys in the lineup.

Greg Miller, originally from Saskatoon but now a Royal City resident, loved the mid-'80s Oilers teams. He brought along wife Nicole, two-year-old son Ryan and two-week-old daughter Claire to see the cup.

"I wanted to get my picture with the cup and Ryan," said Miller. "I really appreciate Bill bringing the Cup to New Westminster and letting the public spend some time with it."

Claire wasn't the only newborn baby in the lineup, as at least five different children sat in the bowl of the Stanley Cup and had their pictures taken.

Elvera, five months old, was put in the cup by father Norman Fradley.

"It's great to be able to do this," said Fradley, who admitted that he is a lifelong Montreal Canadiens fan and his favourite player was The Roadrunner, Yvan Cournoyer.

If Fradley had his way, Elvera would have been sporting a red Canadiens jersey for the photo op, but for one small problem.

"Her shoulders aren't wide enough for me to get 'Cournoyer' on the back," he joked.

Further back in line was Arlene Conner, who had her three children, Meghan, 11, Duncan, nine and Camron, three, along with Duncan's friend Evin Vowles.

Conner waited more than 45 minutes and said it was worth every minute.

"This is a chance of a lifetime to see the cup," she said. "Once we knew it was coming, we knew we had to come see it."

Greg Manolson is a lifelong Boston Bruins fan who remembers Ranford's tenure as a Bruin. Manolson paid for at least six different pictures with the cup and his assorted Bruins clothing.

"I had to be here for this," said Manolson. "I would have lined up for hours to get these pictures."

Many people paid for multiple pictures, first with just themselves and the cup and then with Ranford and the cup.

Surprisingly, not one person in two hours asked for the iconic picture of Ranford hoisting the cup over his head.

Because of the strict rules behind who can lift the cup over their heads - tradition dictates that only the winners of the cup are accorded this honour - Ranford can pose with people as long as he's holding the cup over their heads.

In fact, the first person at Queen's Park to get this honour was the person who snapped the first 448 pictures.

Johnson did such a good job that click number 449 on her shutter came from New Westminster parks and recreation staffer Sloane Elphinstone, as Ranford wanted to show his appreciation by having a picture taken with Johnson and the cup high in the air.

Ranford also had his best friend, Jeff McLean, pose with the cup high over their heads.

"Bill and I went to elementary school in Germany together," said McLean, who flew in from Edmonton to take part in the celebrations. "We've known each other for more than 25 years and I couldn't be happier for him.

While the initial lineups, which went out the front door of Queen's Park Arena and were 45 minutes at its worst, had organizers worried that people might be turned away at 6 p.m., the last person to get his picture taken with the cup was Queen's Park employee Mike Grewal.

"I work here and I told them to give me a shout when the line was a lot quieter," he said at 5: 58 p.m. "I didn't want to wait in line, but I'm glad I got my picture taken with the cup.

Ranford couldn't have been happier with how the afternoon went.

"It went better than I could have expected," he said. "Everybody got their chance to see the cup and get their picture taken and I think we raised a lot of money for causes that I believe in."

While the final numbers are still being tallied, thousands of dollars were raised for the alternate program's Stick it to Violence hockey program and trampoline program.

People were very generous, as all donations of $25 or more received a tax receipt from the Royal City Education Foundation.

If you haven't got enough of the Stanley Cup in New Westminster, The Record spent most of Monday with the Ranford family and the cherished silver trophy. Keep your eyes peeled in our Friday edi-tion for what happened with the cup at the Ranford home, at two local businesses and what the man in the red shirt, the Keeper of the Cup, did while shepherding the cup through the Royal City.

alau@royalcityrecord.com

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