Oxford residents are lacing up their sneakers and digging out their tents and sleeping bags as they prepare to walk in the community’s First Annual Relay for Life May 14-15 at Oxford High School.
Twenty-one teams consisting of an estimated 800 to 900 walkers will participate in the 24-hour relay event dedicated to raising funds to help the American Cancer Society fight this dreaded disease through research, education and heightened public awareness.
According to Jennifer Schulte, of the American Cancer Society, preliminary figures indicate Oxford’s relay teams have already collected ‘just over $40,000? in donations, which is ‘tremendous? considering it’s Oxford’s first relay.
The original goal was $25,000 ? a standard figure for first-time relay events ? but it was later increaseda.m. Sunday, May 15.
During the event, each team is required to have at least one member walking on the quarter-mile outdoor track at all times ? a reminder that cancer never sleeps.
The first lap around the track will be for cancer survivors only. Normally, you’re considered a ‘survivor? if you’ve been cancer-free for at least five years, but for the purposes of the relay, a survivor has been redefined as ‘anyone who’s lived one day with cancer,? according to Schulte.
Visitors are welcome to attend the relay, as many of the 21 teams will be conducting on-site fund-raisers such as food sales and children’s activities.
To help keep spirits high among relay participants and visitors, a number of entertainers will be performing throughout the day on Saturday.
Fumbelina the Clown (10 a.m. to noon) and Guy Louis & The Chautauqua Express (7 to 8 p.m.) will keep the kiddies entertained, while performers from Orion Oxford Dance Arts (11 a.m.) and Cutting Edge Dance (2:30 p.m.) will be on hand to show off their moves.
Local band ‘Mixed Bizness? (5 to 6:30 p.m.) along with the Sunshine Generation Singers (3:30 p.m.) will add music to the event while comedian Nelia Duguid will generate some late-night laughs at 11 p.m.
At 9:45 p.m. the entertainment will take a break as the Oxford Middle School Choir and Thunder Drummers set the mood for the Luminaria Celebration.
Filled with sand and candles, little white bags bearing the names of people who have died from cancer, those still battling it and survivors of the disease will line the track and light up the night.
For more information about the upcoming Relay for Life call Jennifer Schulte at (248) 483-4304.