Community Corner
HK Relay For Life Kicks Off Saturday (Video)
Life-changing event celebrates the lives of people who have battled cancer, remembers lost loved ones lost, and fights back.
The American Cancer Society Relay For Life will be held May 14-15, at Haddam-. This is the fifth annual Relay for the two towns. At the event, teams of people camp out and take turns walking or running around the track in support of the American Cancer Society’s mission of “creating a world with more birthdays.”
“As a 26-year cancer survivor, the primary reason that I participate in Relay For Life is Hope," said publicity chair Mark Hale.
"I have hope for a brighter tomorrow. Cancer no longer will strike fear into the hearts of men, women, boys and girls. I believe that this day is coming and we all are helping to make it happen, $1, $5, $10 at a time. Please join us as we help create a world with more birthdays.”
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Registration opens and walking begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Opening Ceremony will be held at 5 p.m., followed by the Survivors' Lap and Survivors’ Reception. The Ceremony of Hope will be held at 8:30 p.m., during which luminaries are lit. The Closing Ceremony will be held on Sunday at 8 a.m.
"This year, in addition to the $5 donation for luminaries, we are asking all who are able to bring one canned food item for each luminaria," says Hale adding, "Instead of sand, we will weigh the bags down with the canned item. After Relay, we will bring the cans to local food pantries."
Find out what's happening in Durham-Middlefieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The World's Smallest Quartet and SeeQuence will perform from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a performance by the local youth band Hostile Takeover from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The microphone will open up later in the evening for Relay’s Got Talent! (If you wish to participate in Relay’s Got Talent!, contact Mark Hale at boytenor@comcast.net before Thursday at 8 p.m. to reserve your place. If you would like to sing, but do not have an accompaniment, you can provide an .mp3 file and sound engineers will take care of the orchestra.
It is not too late to join in the festivities to fight back against cancer. "You can still start a team, or join an existing team. Simply go to www.relayforlife.org/hkct Not interested in camping out? That’s ok, you can register as a participant on the day of Relay For Life to come in and see what the excitement is about," Hale said.
