A plethora of events is planned for the 2016 Relay for Life of Becker® event set for Fri., July 22 at the Becker Community Center from 5 p.m. to midnight.  The event will open with survivor registrations, a silent auction and a mystery box raffle inside the hospitality tent at the site. 

 

The opening ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. with the presentation of The Colors by the Honor Guard from Becker American Legion Post 193, followed by the singing of the National Anthem.  The opening ceremony brings everyone together for a high-energy event kickoff that celebrates the lives of those who have battled cancer and reminds us all that while we are winning this battle, fighting cancer is a year-round priority.

 

 Event organizer Cory Whiting will then welcome all participants and spectators to the event, and introduce the corporate event sponsors for this year.  

 

The 2016 Honorary Survivors will then be introduced and this year’s honorees include Kris Samuelson and Cindy Adelman.

 

“I’m a bit nervous,” said Adelman. “I don’t like being in the spotlight that much.”

 

Adelman was diagnosed with cancer in Sept. of 2013. She is grateful for programs like Relay For Life and what it does for those afflicted.

 

“It’s a great program,” Adelman said of RFL. “It’s people getting involved in the community and helping to find a cure through the American Red Cross. I especially like how it gets people in the community to know each other.”

 

Samuelson said she is very honored and privileged to be named an honorary survivor.

 

“I am proud and excited,” she said. 

 

Samuelson, 47, who was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease at the age of 12, says for people to “never give up, keep fighting and keep living every day.”

 

At 6:15 p.m., cancer survivors take the first lap around the track. Cheered on by the other participants and the sound of upbeat music, the survivors lap lets all cancer survivors at the event celebrate their victory over cancer.

 

At 6:20 p.m.,  anyone who ever cared for someone with cancer walks a special lap called the caregivers lap  so they can be honored. Caregivers can walk this lap with the person they helped if they are also present.

 

Food, games, shopping and a host of other activities will get into high gear at 6:30 p.m., including rides in a fire engine courtesy of the Becker Fire Dept. and musical entertainment by Dean-O-Mite DJ on the grounds throughout the evening.  The “lap bead count” begins at 5 p.m. and ends at midnight.

 

Other entertainment activities are expected throughout the evening with a performance from Starz Dance Studio at 7:30 p.m., a dunk tank sponsored by Mike+You=Cure, a robotics demonstration at 8 p.m. and team recognition at 8:30 p.m. Guests can pick up their “passport” at Relay Central and have them dropped off by 9 p.m. for the 9:30 p.m. drawing. Adopt-A-Duck tickets can be purchased at the BCC prior to Relay For Life or at Relay Central that night. The race will start at 7 p.m. at the BCC pool.

 

Also, guests and participants are asked to bring your “why you relay” pictures and hang them on the picture wall, which will be in full view all night.

 

The memory garden will be expected to be full of color as people are asked to place a flower in memory of someone lost to cancer and place it in the garden.  

 

The luminaria ceremony gets underway around 10 p.m. as candles are lit to remember loved ones lost to cancer. The lights are also there to support people who currently have cancer and honor people who fought cancer in the past. It's a powerful part of the event because it provides an opportunity for people to work through grief and find hope.

 

The event will draw to an end at midnight with the official closing ceremonies and the celebration of what everyone just accomplished together. It's also a time to remember the lives of those lost, and to commit to continuing the fight against this disease over the next year.

 

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life movement symbolizes hope and our shared goal to end a disease that threatens the lives of so many people we love. If cancer has touched ones life, participating in a Relay For Life event is a way to take action and help finish the fight.