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| The Hope/Cure lights for the Luminaria Ceremony |
Relay for Life of Fairfield was held at Ludlowe High School on Saturday night.
A few years back, the event was changed from an overnight event, to ending at midnight. This was due in large part to the fact that it became a younger group, as it was mostly kids in middle school, rather than those in high school and older.
The number of teams/attendees this year was down from years past. It was light overall, including one side (length wise) of the track having just two sites set up.
With that, I feel that a lot of the purpose of the event is taken away. The ultimate goal, raising money for Cancer research, is still achieved however, so that is most important. Per the RFL committee, about $84,000 was raised this year.
The issue is, for the most part, people don't walk the track. The organized laps, (survivor, caregiver and the Luminaria) are well walked, but the rest of the night there is not much walking on the track. Most people are hanging by their campsite and/or playing games in the middle of the turf.
The Opening Ceremony and the laps were well done from an organization and execution standpoint. The Luminaria ceremony, with the music from the Ludlowe HS Close Harmony, the lighting of hope and cure (pictured above) and the lighting of the glow sticks and the walk around the track, are emotional, but special. It's a chance to honor those touched by cancer. It could be to honor someone who beat the disease, someone who is currently battling, or someone who lost their battle.
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To be honest, from what I saw, there was very little promotion of the event this year. I had to go to the Relay for Life website to see when the date of the event was. I also didn't hear of or see a lot of fundraising efforts by the teams (lemonade stands, etc). That does not mean they were not there, they just could have been promoted better.
With the decrease in participation, the question has to be asked: Will Relay for Life in Fairfield continue in the current form? Or does it just need some changes?
I don't know what will happen but I will say I feel like something needs to be done to spark the event again. I get why they cut it to end at midnight but that shouldn't discourage people from coming. If anything, that should encourage those who don't want to spend a whole night up, to participate.
It's an important event to not only raise money, but also the awareness and to support one another. I hope it continues and is bigger and better than ever next year. It's a great event for the town, but it could be even better. I know a lot of time and effort go into it from the event coordinators so this is not a problem with them, it's just my observations on an event the means a lot.
Overall, I just wish more people came out and supported the event.
I'll end this on a high note, the 2018 honoree, Charlie Capalbo, did a phenomenal job speaking, as did his brother Will.
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| Charlie speaking at Survivor reception. Also spoke at Opening Ceremony |
Always a pleasure helping out Dave Schulz and the rest of the cleanup crew.
