NORWICH – Celebrate. Remember. Fight back. That’s what over 700 Chenango County residents will be doing this weekend as they circle the track at the Chenango County Fairgrounds for the 13th Annual Chenango County Relay for Life.
The Relay will officially begin at 6:30 tonight with opening ceremonies, but participants can begin registering as early as 3 p.m. The two-day event will continue throughout the night and the early morning, concluding at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Going into the event, Relay Co-Chair Marie DeSarro said she is optimistic about reaching the fundraising goal of $140,000. “It seems like the teams raised more money prior to the event this year,” DeSarro said.
Co-Chair Kim Mack agreed. “We appear to be ahead of the game going into the event as far as the amount raised so far,” Mack said.
DeSarro explained that while the increased use of the event website and online donations may have accounted for the increased fund raising, she is still optimistic about what that will mean for the event total.
DeSarro explained that this year there also seems to be a lot more enthusiasm from the team captains. With approximately 50 teams this year, there are more than ever before reaching higher fund raising totals. One team, the Mad Hatters from Sherburne have already raised over $10,000, and DeSarro said, there are four to five teams this year who estimate they have raised over $5,000 already.
“They’re coming up with clever and creative things to do for fund raising,” DeSarro said. Many fundraisers have already taken place, but according to DeSarro, several teams will have more opportunities available at the event this weekend. Local businesses have donated an array of prizes to be given out, and in addition, individual teams will be holding raffles and selling food, drinks and an array of other items.
Relay activities will begin at 3 p.m. DJ Frank Goodrich will entertain the crowd from 3 to 5 p.m. as teams begin to register. Before the Relay officially begins, a survivors’ dinner will be held, featuring entertainment by Shelly Harris of Sherburne. Mack said that the Fox Run Events Center in Sherburne volunteered to cater the Survivors’ Dinner again this year.
The event will officially begin at 6:30 p.m. with opening ceremonies. This year’s Relay will be dedicated to Josephine L. Harrington, a long time Relay committee member who passed away on July 7. Harrington had been volunteering as a committee member since the Relay began 13 years ago. “Josie was a passionate and enthusiastic supporter of Relay for Life, working determinedly to promote this event. It was so much a part of her life, and we are happy that this event had brought her into our lives,” a statement from the Relay For Life Planning Committee said.
