Thousands of people will descend on Ida Baker’s football field next weekend for 18 hours of fund raising for the American Cancer Society, as the Relay for Life returns to raise money for cancer research.
Teams will take part in the all-night event, walking the track at Ida Baker and raising awareness for the cause.
Like years past, event chair Donna Germain said she expects a large turnout from the community.
“It’s not just the teams, but also the community that comes out to support those teams and support the American Cancer Society,” Germain said. “We just get a great turnout from the community.”
The relay begins at 3p.m. next Saturday and runs through 9 a.m. Sunday morning.
Normally beginning on Friday, Germain said the event was pushed back one day to give people who normally work on Fridays the chance to relax before undertaking the epic 18- hour trek.
Germain said the night will be filled with music and fun and entertainment, including an all-male beauty pageant with men dressed as women, and that as it gets later into the night, the more fun people start to have.
“We have a great time at three in the morning,” Germain said.
Proceeds from everything sold at the event go to the American Cancer Society, according to Germain.
A survivor’s lunch precedes the start of the Relay for Life, and the first lap of the Relay is for survivors. A Luminaria ceremony also will be held at 9 p.m. on Saturday night.
Germain said the survivor’s lunch is an opportunity to honor those who have faced and beaten cancer, and that the lunch is also dedicated to the caregivers.
“They’re a very important part of the survivor’s journey,” Germain said of the caregiver.
The 2011 American Cancer Society Relay for Life begins 3 p.m., Saturday, May 14, at Ida Baker High School.
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The theme of this year’s event is Las Vegas, according Germain.