LAKEPORT — More than 80 teams and approximately 850 people participated in Relay For Life from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday at Clear Lake High School”s Don Owens Stadium.
“It was the biggest, most successful Relay For Life Lake County”s ever had,” Sarah Van Guilder, senior manager for Relay For Life”s Sonoma County field office, said.
According to Van Guilder, more than $96,000 was raised. The goal was to raise $100,000 by Aug. 31.
The Lake County Relay organizing committee was full of new members this year, but “they took it on and ran with it,” she said, adding the committee brought in 34 new teams, which was the most in the Greater Bay Area region.
Additionally, more than 140 people took part in the cancer prevention study held on-site during the event and more than 100 survivors were present.
Many county high schools entered teams.
“We have 15 high school teams from Middletown High School, two from Kelseyville, one from Upper Lake and two or three from Clear Lake High,” she said.
Van Guilder said the event featured many activities, including raffles, live music, dancers and competitions.
A featured competition was the Miss Relay For Life.
“Men dress as women and take on the persona of a woman going through chemotherapy,” she said. “They put on a dress and a wig and may not feel pretty but have to get out and go out there anyway. It raises awareness for our ”Look Good Feel Better” program, which helps women to get wigs from our free wig bank and learn how to apply makeup and eyelashes and eyebrows so that they feel better about themselves and are able to go out into public.”
Thirteen men took part in the competition, which included making two laps of the track to receive donations. A pageant question-and-answer segment also took place, with 2012 Miss Lake County”s Outstanding Teen Alice Crockett and Miss Lake County contestants and Miss Bass Bowl Queens Brianna Vargas and Laura Pankratz.
Vargas” father, Ray Vargas, won the competition. His wife is a breast cancer survivor.
“I”m glad I got the message out there,” Ray Vargas said. “It feels great.”
At 9 p.m., the Luminaria Ceremony began. The ceremony served as a candlelight vigil for all who have died from cancer. Candles are lit inside Luminaria bags that are decorated in a deceased loved one”s honor and line the track.
Everyone was directed into the stadium grandstand prior to the Luminaria. During the ceremony, a few women shared their stories of cancer affecting their families and themselves. A slide show in memory of those who have died was also shown. Everyone was handed a glow stick to identify themselves as a survivor, caregiver or family member of someone afflicted with cancer.
Everyone was then directed back onto the track for a lap of silence in memoriam.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
