Rock Rapids, Iowa — The 2016 Lyon County American Cancer Society Relay For Life is this Wednesday in Rock Rapids. The annual event, which originally had been held in June, has — since 2014 — been held in August.
Ronda Arends, one of the people who help organize the relay every year, says that they will again have the event in the air-conditioned Forster Community Center. She gives us an idea of what can be expected.
She says they’re going to be trying something different as an option as well.
Arends gives us an idea of some of the items available through the raffle.
After that will be the luminaria ceremony. Luminaria are paper sacks honoring a loved one or a loved one’s memory — someone who had cancer or someone who is currently fighting cancer. The sacks can be decorated however you choose, and sand and a candle are placed inside. The candle is lit during the ceremony, the lights are turned out, and the names are read by an announcer. To get a luminaria, Arends says you can call her before the relay at (712) 541-7189. You are encouraged to take care of any luminaria before the Relay, but you can also purchase them there, she says.
Money raised through the Relay and by the teams goes toward cancer research and support through the American Cancer Society.
Again, the Relay for Life of Lyon County will be Wednesday, August 10th at the Forster Community Center in Rock Rapids. The social hour and registration begins at 5, with the meal at 5:30, the opening ceremony at 6:30, and the luminaria ceremony at 8.
