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Fans Celebrate John Lennon's 70th Birthday

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Beatles fans worldwide are coming together to celebrate John Lennon's 70th birthday.

On the day when the Liverpool Lad would have become a septuagenarian, fans are invited to gather Saturday at noon for a free two-hour celebration at Lennon's Walk of Fame star in front of the Capitol Records tower in Hollywood.

Chris Carter, host of radio series Breakfast with The Beatles, will lead a cake-cutting ceremony, and attendees can inscribe messages on a 100-foot scroll.

In New York, fans will visit Central Park's tranquil Strawberry Fields and attend a nearby benefit concert in Manhattan.

The memorial to the slain ex-Beatle and peace activist includes a mosaic donated by the city of Naples, Italy. A plaque lists 121 countries that endorse Strawberry Fields as a Garden of Peace.

The 2.5-acre site is named after the Lennon song, which observes that "living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see."

The birthday celebration got started on Friday in England, where Google UK released a video "doodle" to a Lennon soundtrack.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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