The big day is more than five weeks away, but organizers want to get the momentum building for the 2012 Canadian Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life event, scheduled for Saturday, June 23.
“We want teams that are thinking about participating to do so and we want to start building momentum for the event,” said Maxine Box all, co-chair of the Osoyoos organizing committee for the 2012 Relay for Life.
For the eighth-consecutive year, the Relay for Life event will take place in Osoyoos and for the second-consecutive year, the event will take place on the shores of beautiful Osoyoos Lake in Gyro Park.
After several years up at Desert Park, the organizing committee switched to Gyro Park for last year’s event and there was good response, so it was an easy decision to bring it back downtown near the lake, said Boxall.
In 2011 we had 18 teams and we raised $40,500.
The largest number of teams was in 2008 when there were 38 teams involved that managed to rise over $73,000.
A total of 10 teams of eight to 15 members have already signed up, but the organizing committee knows there are a lot of people talking about participating and now is the time to make the decision final and officially sign up, she said.
“I know a lot of teams in town are talking about putting together a relay team, but they haven’t yet and we would like to remind them to get signed up now as we’re only five weeks away,” said Boxall.
“We’re encouraging teams to sign up before the end of May because if they do the registration fee is only $20 instead of $25 per person.”
Like last year, the Osoyoos Relay For Life will begin at noon and go until midnight.
“For the first several years, we started in the early evening and went into the early morning, but it was difficult to get volunteers who wanted to stay up all night, so we switched to a daytime start,” said Boxall. “Things went so well last year, we saw no need to change things this year.”
This year’s event will also feature entertainment throughout the afternoon and early evening and will also have a silent auction to help raise even more money, she said.
“Most of the businesses in town have been very supportive and we will have some wonderful items up for sale at the silent auction,” she said.
Originating in the United States, the Relay For Life event has spread to 21 countries. Although the main objective of Relay is to raise money for cancer research and cancer patients, the event is held to spread cancer awareness, celebrate the lives of survivors, remember those who lost their lives to cancer and unite a community in the fight against cancer, said Boxall.
It is estimated that Relay For Life events have raised over $3 billion to date in the past 30 years.
Survivors are a large part of the Relay community. It is important to honour those who have won their battle against cancer, she said.
At most Relay events, a Survivor Dinner is held for survivors in the community to come together and share their experiences with cancer. It is an opportunity for participants to reach out and connect with survivors. The Survivor Lap, which often signifies the start of the Relay, is again used to distinguish the survivors and celebrate their victory, she said.
Sometimes survivors are invited to speak at Relay events to encourage those with cancer to continue fighting and to ensure the community that there is hope when given a diagnosis of cancer. Survivors represent the fact that cancer can be overcome, she said.
The Osoyoos Times will be talking to team leaders and cancer survivors leading up to the Relay For Life event and will provide in-depth coverage during the actual relay.
While most participants enter as teams, there are some individuals who would like to participate and they are encouraged to sign up as well and will be placed on a team, said Boxall.
To register, go online at www.bcrelay.ca or contact the Sonora Community Centre at 250-495-6562.