Last weekend’s Relay for Life fundraiser was mired by some pretty dangerous weather, forcing organizers to call the event off after only two hours.
A severe thunderstorm ripped through the skies above Ida Baker High School at around 5 p.m, leaving a swath of destroyed tents in its wake.
Chair Donna Germain said 30 tents were torn apart in the storm, and that all the participants had to take shelter inside Ida Baker to avoid the severe weather.
After the rain quieted, the wind picked up, and Germain said it was obvious what decision needed to be made.
“There was no other choice but to call the event and end it,” she said. “There was stuff all over the place.”
A scaled down version of Relay for Life is scheduled for June 11 at Cape Harbour to make up for the weather -shortened event.
The price of trying to do a full scale Relay is too expensive, according to Germain, and the make up date at Cape Harbour will still give relay teams the chance to raise money.
They also plan on having their Luminara ceremony on June 11, which will honor the late Patti Schnell, who lost a battle with cancer last year.
“The teams were very adamant. They wanted to do something,” Germain said, adding, “We’re going to try and make it as much like the event as possible.”
Germain said they were $20,000 short of their goal because of the weather and the rescheduled Relay should help them to make up the difference.
“Had we been able to have it that night we would have been able to make our goal, if not exceed it,” she added.
Another violent thunderstorm came through the area late Saturday, early Sunday morning, so even if they had cleaned up and tried again, the second storm would have cause more damage, Germain said.
But too much damage was done during the first storm anyway, she said, so they had little choice but to call things off and regroup for June.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever had to cancel the event this early,” she said.
Donations can be made directly to the American Cancer Society by calling Ashley Smith at 936-1113.
The rescheduled Relay for Life is June 11, 5 – 10 pm at Cape Harbour.
For more information about the event contact Germain at the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce, 549-6900, extension 107.