MARYSVILLE – Almost all of us know someone who has either died or survived cancer.
Thanks to fund-raisers like Relay for Life, which raises money for cancer research, more people are surviving.
The Marysville-Tulalip relay will take place starting at noon Saturday at the Tulalip Amphitheatre. The event is not an actual relay; it’s more of a rally. Participants normally walk a portion of the time, but mostly it’s an effort to get donations for the American Cancer Society. There are corporate and individual sponsors in 5,200 communities in 27 countries.
The local goal is to raise $70,000. Its website says it’s raised about $30,000 so far.
Eighteen teams with about 70 people are signed up so far. The leading team is Kickin’ It For Cancer with $9,481 already in donations. The top company sponsor is Walmart with $1,135. And the top individuals so far are Linda Clark with $2,800, and Cassie Golden, who is right behind with $2,708.
The Survivor’s Lap will start things off at noon, followed by the Caregivers Lap. The Luminary Ceremony, which honors those who have died of cancer, will take place at dusk, around 10 p.m. Closing ceremonies will be at 7 Sunday morning.
In between, entertainment includes the classic rock back Aardvark United, which will perform from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Also on tap is a hypnotist at 7 p.m.
Various themed hours also are part of the event, including wearing Wizard of Oz costumes and sports attire of your favorite team. At midnight it will be the Richard Simmons Hour when participants will wear exercise clothes and do aerobics and zumba.
Contests include frozen t-shirt, water balloon toss, tug of war, cardboard car race and watermelon eating. And from 4-6 p.m. there will be a silent auction.
The effort that sparked the worldwide activity, which is ACS’s biggest fundraiser, happened in 1985 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. That’s when Dr. Gordon Klatt ran and walked for 24 hours on the UPS track. He ended up raising $27,000 on his own, going 83.6 miles.
The relay used to be about “walking, walking, walking” organizer Katie Tormohlen, but now it’s all about “energizing people throughout the day” with various activities.
To that end, each hour has a different theme. Some examples:
•2 p.m., Wear favorite sports team attire, water balloon toss.
•3 p.m., Dress up your dog for a photo, frozen T-shirt contest, K-9 demo.
•4 p.m., Watermelon eating contest
•6 p.m., Wear Munchkin costumes, tug of war
•7 p.m., Wear monkey costumes
11 p.m., Wear glow-in-the-dark costumes for dance lap
1 a.m., Wear poker card costumes, best hand wins a prize
3 a.m., Coffee lap
4 a.m., Wear pajamas
5 a.m., Breakfast
Some of the teams also will have activities, such as face painting for a donation. Anyone interested in participating in the event may call Tormohlen at 206-674-4116 or email katie.tormohlen@cancer.org or google Marysville Tulalip Relay for Life.
