Relay fights back
Shannon LeClair – Times Reporter
The sixth annual Relay for Life will be taking place at the curling rink and agricultural grounds on June 11. The Relay is a 12-hour event, which takes place over night, and participants either walk, run, jog, or wheel to show their support and to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.
This year Angela Boyd is the event chair. She has been involved in different ways with the Relay for a number of years.
“When I first got involved I was a team captain and then moved on into the committee. This year I advanced my role by taking on the event chair role,” said Boyd. The survivor reception begins at 5:30 p.m. and is followed by the Celebrate ceremony.
There are three major ceremonies held throughout the relay. The first is the Celebrate Ceremony, where the lives of those who have battled cancer are celebrated, and the survivors join together for a victory lap. The second ceremony, the Remember Ceremony, is where loved ones who lost their battle are remembered. There are luminaries, which are lit at dusk and stay lit to provide motivation and inspiration to the participants. The third ceremony is the Fight Back Ceremony. “It’s an opportunity for each participant to make a personal contribution to take action and make a commitment to fight back against cancer for the remainder of the night and for the rest of our lives,” said Boyd.
Boyd is also a team captain again this year and will be participating with her team in the relay. At 8:30 p.m. there will be a head shave, which will be followed by the Remember Ceremony at 10 p.m.
In the past few years the Relay has been seeing the numbers go down, but Boyd is excited about the new teams who have signed up this year, and the dedicated returning ones, and thinks it will be a decent turnout.
“If people want to take part, they are encouraged to come down, check out the entertainment, take part in our ceremonies. For a small fee of $5 they can join us in our meals, and maybe see if they want to be a bigger part of the Relay for Life next year,” said Boyd.
There will be a dinner served, a midnight snack, and breakfast in the morning. There will also be entertainment for everyone to help keep people going throughout the night. The Keister Family Fiddlers will be there, Matrix Cheer, Zaida Bahir School of Belly Dancers, face painting, and even bouncy houses for the kids.
Participants should bring with them weather-appropriate clothing, camping chairs and other items that might be needed during the night. Go cups are recommended to help reduce the amount of waste.