20th annual Relay For Life kicks off Saturday morning
Porterville will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Relay for Life this weekend from Saturday morning to Sunday morning at Summit Charter Collegiate Academy (SCCA). This event is 24 hours — because cancer never sleeps — and is free for the public. Teams and businesses will set up booths and volunteers walk the track to raise awareness and money for cancer research. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
This year’s celebration will include music, games, contests, a silent auction, drawings, food, drinks, live bands and more.
“We are going to be doing a very special veterans lap at 2 p.m. We will have the veterans release 10 white balloons and 10 purple balloons. The white balloons symbolize our veterans, and the purple symbolize our survivors. The 20 represents our 20th anniversary,” said Rebecca Underwood, a member of the Relay for Life planning committee. “We also will be having our veterans sign a plate, since the 20th anniversary is traditionally china. We will have that in our survivor tent. We also will be having a couple of surprises throughout the event and decorations for our 20th anniversary.”
Over 30 different activities have been planned, along with over 20 different entertainment events.
The relay will open up at 9 a.m. with a prayer, followed by a cancer survivor and caregiver lap around the track.
An hour long Zumba session will take place and relay goers will have the opportunity to meet in the middle of the SCCA football field to participate in the Zumba fun.
The luminaria ceremony, an annual staple of the 24-hour event, will begin at 7 p.m. accompanied by a silent memorial lap at 8 p.m.
“Our luminaria ceremony of course is always a highlight,” stated Underwood.
Mayor Milt Stowe announced at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that he would be in attendance for this year’s relay, and encouraged the community to join the fun and participate in helping with the fight against cancer.
“We hope to see a lot of people out there this year,” Underwood said. “And as always, thank you to the amazing community for your continued support.”