May 18-19
Relay For Life volunteers painted the town purple on May 5th by tying purple ribbons through out the St Johns area. The ribbons are a reminder of the upcoming St Johns Relay on May 18th and 19th.
Organizers and volunteers of the Relay for Life of St. Johns / Clinton County painted the Town Purple last weekend in preparation for the upcoming Relay which will be happening on May 18th and 19th this year. Purple is the official color of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and the universal color that represents all cancers.
This year in order to spread awareness about the Relay for Life and the community’s ongoing commitment to fight cancer, volunteers hung more than 200 ribbons throughout St. Johns.
The actual Relay For Life of St. Johns / Clinton County will take place May 18th and 19th, 3 p.m. – 3 p.m. Due to the construction at the High School, the Relay has moved to a new location this year at the Clinton County 4H Fairgrounds. Throughout the 2 weeks prior to the Relay For Life event (May 5st – 19th) businesses and residents are encouraged to decorate their storefronts, offices, and homes in a purple motif.
“The biggest message it sends is we won’t let cancer defeat us or our loved ones and we will stand together as a community until a cure is found,” said Alan Bunn, Event Chair, Relay For Life of St. Johns.
The Paint the Town Purple campaign will culminate in the Relay for Life, a non-competitive community event where teams take turns walking around a track for 24-hours. But, that’s not all that happens.
Relay for Life events have a carnival-like atmosphere with music, entertainment, on-site fund raising events and games, as well as hours of non-stop fun and laughs.
This year 33 teams and over 200 participants will take part in the Relay for Life of St. Johns. The event is open to the public and everyone is welcome to join us. Organizers report that this Relay event is making great progress towards reaching its fundraising goal of $135,000.
The Relay will begin with a Fight Back Ceremony at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 18th. The formal opening ceremonies will be at 6:00pm and will culminate with the survivors taking a victory lap around the track to celebrate what they have overcome while also inspiring and motivating their community to fightback against cancer. Immediately afterwards there will be a Survivor’s dinner at Smith Hall.
At dusk, the moving Luminaria Ceremony will be held, lining the track with 100’s of luminary bags in a tribute honoring those who have both survived and succumbed to cancer.
Local entertainment will also be featured throughout the event (weather permitting).
Louie Longoria will kick off the Relay For Life event, playing on the main stage from 3-5 p.m. Next Karen Messmer will be singing from 5:00 – 6:00pm. The band Concord will then take the stage from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Lastly the band Hidden Agenda will finish off the evening playing from 8:00 – 10:00pm.
On Saturday May 19th , music will be provided by Sound Cruise DJ Service from 8:00am – 3:00 p.m. There will be a lot of family-focused, fun activities planned throughout the 24 hour period.
A special feature this year will be a “Mr Relay” contest where teams compete to see who can raise the most funds in one hour. This contest will take place on Friday evening at 8:00pm and is a very unique fundraising event that truly needs to be seen. Cancer survivors in the community are encouraged to join us at the Relay for both the survivor celebration and victory lap.
For more information about the events and activities or to register for the survivor activities visit www.relayforlife.org/stjohnsmi. You can also call Alan Bunn at 517-980-1569 to register for the survivor activities.