Poway ‘Relay for Life’ is this weekend

There’s still time to register for Poway’s Relay for Life event, which will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Lake Poway.

Relay for Life is a fundraiser where participants walk around a track in teams for a total of 24 hours, though no one person is expected to walk for the entire time. Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society. The event will conclude at 9 a.m. Sunday morning.

This year’s theme, “Swing for a Cure,” has a special meaning to Powegians, as it honors Poway resident and Padres legend Tony Gwynn, along with his family. Gwynn died in June from salivary gland cancer.

The guest speaker this year will be San Diego Padres announcer Bob Chandler, who is himself a prostate cancer survivor. The Pad Squad and the Swinging Friar will also be there to help kick off the event.

Anyone desiring to walk the track with a team can still join the event, up to and including at the event itself on Saturday. Walkers are encouraged to join in teams, to reduce the amount of walking you will have to do during the 24-hour period.

You can register ahead of the event at www.relayforlife.org/powayca. A total of 17 teams and 180 participants have already raised over $21,000.

Signing up is free. Registrants can either start their own team, or join an existing team.

The public is also encouraged to come out and cheer on the teams walking. Admission for spectators is free.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday with the opening ceremony, which will honor those who are battling cancer and provide a high-energy kick-off to the event.

At 9:30 a.m., cancer survivors will take the first lap around the track while been cheered on by the other participants. This will be followed by the caregivers’ lap, where anyone who ever cared for someone with cancer walks a lap so they can be honored for their support. Caregivers can walk this lap with the people they helped if they are also present at the event.

At 8:30 p.m. on Saturday is the luminaria ceremony, where participants will take time to remember those who have been lost to cancer, and honor those who have fought cancer in the past. The ceremony will be lit by luminarias, or small paper lanterns.

After walking all through the night, the event will conclude with the closing ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Relay for Life Poway is also collecting canned goods, which will be used to secure the luminaria bags during the event. The canned good will be donated to the Poway High School and Mt. Carmel High School food banks, which are used to help needy families at those schools. The goal this year is to collect 1,000 cans of food.

Those interested in finding out more about donating canned goods can contact Tasha Meredith at Tasha.Meredith@Cancer.org.