The 2019 Rutherford County Relay for Life will be Disney-themed. The public is invited to come as they are or in costume to honor people in the community who have dealt with cancer and to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.
The theme for the Aug. 10 event is “Wish Upon a Cure,” said volunteer and 2019 Relay for Life public relations spokesperson Ashley Keasling.
“Each team has picked a Disney movie to base their booth off of,” she said. “For example, my team, TK Designs, has picked Dumbo. There will also be people dressed up. Two people are scheduled to come as Belle and Captain America, and people from the teams and committee will be dressed up as well.”
“This theme will be great for kids, and we encourage them to dress up, too.”
This year’s Relay for Life is on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 3 p.m. to midnight at Middle Tennessee Christian School. Daytime activities will be held inside, and the event will move outside at around 8 p.m.
It is free to attend and open to the public, and all money from food and entertainment sales goes to the American Cancer Society.
“This gives you something to do when it’s hot outside, and you don’t have to spend very much money,” Keasling said.
There will be bounce houses for the kids.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office will have a team in the relay and their booth is Jail & Bail.
“If you want to have someone ‘arrested’ at the relay, give $5, we’ll go arrest them and then people have to raise $10 or $15 to get them out,” said RCSO Deputy Andy Pugh.
The money raised at Relay for Life, and all year for ACS, provides several direct services to cancer patients.
In 2018, Relay for Life alone raised $74,000. This year accordingly, the goal has been raised to $80,000.
“Last year, the American Cancer Society in Rutherford County helped 465 people. It provided them with free lodging at The Hope Lodge, 197 free rides to cancer treatments and 59 patients received free wigs,” Keasling said.
The schedule of events at Relay For Life begins with opening ceremonies at 3 p.m., followed by the start of the relay and the survivors and caregivers lap. Throughout the event, members from each team will switch places in relay style and continually walk the track. From 4–6 p.m. Captain America and Princess Belle will make appearances and there will be a silent auction followed by a live auction at 5 p.m.
Mackenzie Morgan
The Max Johns Band will perform from 6–7 p.m., followed by the Luminaria Ceremony and the Maypole. Mackenzie Morgan will perform from 10–11:30 p.m. then the event will wrap up with the Fight Back Lap and closing ceremonies.
“For the Luminaria Ceremony, we get paper bags that we put candles inside, and we write people’s names on them,” Keasling said. “You pay $5 for one to either honor someone who currently has cancer or someone who has lost their life to cancer.
“During the ceremony, we put these around the track, we walk a lap and there is a video playing with music and pictures of some of the people we are honoring who have dealt with cancer. This is a really nice part of the event and it is really emotional, if you haven’t come at another time, this is the part of the event you want to go to. This part will be held outside and following it, we are going to do the maypole, which is just a fun thing we do. The team captain or one person from each team goes around the pole with a ribbon—it’s really cool.”
In addition to participating in these activities, last year 51 people in Rutherford County registered themselves as cancer survivors.
“When someone registers as a survivor, it creates statistics,” Keasling said. “It tells how many people have been helped in the county, in the state and in the United States as a whole. There is also a dinner to honor them.”
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer Misty Oblak will be at Relay For Life providing information about cancer prevention and screenings and talking to people to learn their stories.
“We try to learn peoples’ stories because they are important to pass along to the people making decisions,” Oblak said. “And, it is great to talk to people and see the survivors, people in treatment and caregivers.”
For more information about Relay for Life events in Murfreesboro and all over the country, volunteering and the American Cancer Society, visit relayforlife.org.
