Many new fun activities planned for Relay for Life By KAREN KENNEDY Both old and new activities will be enjoyed at this year’s American Cancer Society’s Meade County Relay for Life, to be held at Meade County High School’s track and field from 6 p.m. Saturday, May 20 until 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 21. Children’s activities will be even more fun than usual. Radio Disney will be set up at Relay this year from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. They will have games and prizes for all the kids and will be playing lots of great Disney tunes by Hillary Duff, Raven Simone, and all of your other Disney characters. Wimpee’s Inflatables will be joining Relay again this year. Children are encouraged to come out to play and have a great time on the inflatables. A pitching booth for the kids is always great fun for the kids, and it will open at 7:30 p.m. This year there will be a motorcycle show held behind the school bus garage off High Street. Bikes will be on display starting at 6 p.m. A “People’s Choice” award will be given to the favorite bike at Relay. Anyone interested in participating in the motorcycle show and Victory Lap, please call Ronnie Joyner at 422-8110 or 547-0223. This year’s dunking booth is your chance to dunk some “local people of interest.” All proceeds collected go directly to American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. This is the first year for both silent and live auctions. The silent auction will have themed baskets that have been put together by teams, businesses, and individuals. Included in this auction will be cakes made by members of our community. The live auction will include items such as autographed sports items, tickets to local attractions, gift certificates to local vendors and much, much more. The Relay for Life committee encourages all teams to find a male member or representative to dress up like a lovely lady for the “Dude Looks Like a Lady” contest. The contestant does not need to be a Relay for Life team member. Master of ceremonies Dave Clark will introduce each “lovely lady” to the crowd. The contestants will take a bucket (not furnished) and collect money from the public. Whoever has the most money at 9 p.m. will be declared the winner, and crowned “Queen of Relay.” The winner will receive an award and “bragging rights” for the year. Cornhole is a game that is gaining popularity in the area, and if you have never played it, you are missing out. To provide a brief explanation, this game is a cross between horseshoes and bean bag toss. The cornhole tournament begins at 7:30 p.m., and everyone should come early to sign up. The tournament will continue through most of the night except for during the luminaria ceremony. Starting at 11 p.m., there will be a pie eating contest, and all ages are eligible to enter. There will be 10 contestants, all competing to see who can eat five pies the fastest. Sign-ups will take place at the concession stand the night of Relay. Sumo wrestling will begin at 11 p.m., with signups also at the concession stand. The participants will be put into inflatable suits to make them look like sumo wrestlers, and the wrestlers will try to pin their opponent to the ground. This activity is for adults ages 18 and over. Everyone had so much fun last year with bunco and bingo, so both events are returning again this year. Bunco will start at 11 p.m., with bingo at 12:30 a.m. There will be prizes for the winners. At 1 a.m., a scavenger hunt will help keep everyone awake and moving. The committee says you might be surprised with what you will find and who you may meet. Just as fun as the activities is the planned entertainment. Dave Clark from WMMG Radio will be the MC this year, and he will be going around to all the teams, checking out the festivities, and getting everyone’s reaction to this year’s events. Live performances include the MCHS Dance Team at 7:45 p.m., the Boot Scootin’ Grannies at 8 p.m., the winners of the Stuart Pepper Middle School American Idol Contest at 8:15 p.m., and then Phoenix will take the stage from 8:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. At 11 p.m., the band Hillbillies Having Fun will do some pickin’ and grinnin’. As if that isn’t enough, The Refills will take the stage at 1 a.m. to shake the crowd up a bit and make sure everyone is still awake. This year’s Relay will conclude with a community sunrise worship service, with special music performed by the Meade County High School Madrigals. Anyone interested in bringing a sleeping bag and camping out at this year’s event is invited to do so, said event chairperson Michelle Griffin. Griffin also shares her thoughts on the symbolism of Relay for Life’s overnight event. “That Relay for Life is an overnight event is symbolic of how cancer never sleeps,” said Griffin. “This event is encouraging to those who have fought cancer and to those who have lost a loved one to cancer and shows how a community of many can come together and unite for one cause. We have fun, cry a little, and are tired the next day, but Relay is not done in vain. We do this because we understand cancer does not discriminate due to age, sex, race, religion, creed, or nationality. We look for a day when we can tell our children and grandchildren that cancer used to be a deadly disease, but it isn’t anymore.” For more information on Meade County’s Relay for Life, visit www.brandenburgpolice. com and click on the Relay for Life link.
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