Moses Lake relay is for life

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake is fighting cancer Friday and Saturday through Relay for Life at the Moses Lake High School track.

Seventy-two teams take to the track this weekend, and they've already raised a lot of money to support services and cancer research, said Donna Anderson, corporate sponsor chair for this year's event.

"Right now we're sitting close to $90,000," Anderson said, but she anticipates more money will be raised at the track during the event through drawings, bake sales, a dunk tank and other fundraisers.

"We want people to come out and see what it's about," she said. "It's a happy, celebrating time."

The opening ceremony starts at 6 p.m. Friday and plaques will be awarded to Relay for Life's corporate sponsors. Cancer survivors will also be honored, said Anderson.

Atlanta musician Tom Willner, a two-time cancer survivor, will speak at the opening ceremony.

Willner was diagnosed with cancer when he was 30 years old; he even wrote a musical about surviving cancer, entitled "Turning Thirty," said Anderson. He will talk about his experience with cancer and will also play several songs at the opening ceremony, she added.

"He's got an amazing story," she said.

The Relay for Life Luminaria Ceremony is a more somber aspect of Relay for Life.

After the sun sets, participants place candles in paper bags placed around the track, illuminating it. Six children cancer survivors will light candles in the ceremony, Anderson said.

"The luminaria is where we honor everyone that's been touched, the ones that are still with us and the ones that are gone," she said. "It's a very touching, very emotional ceremony ... It's a remembrance and an honoring of everyone with cancer."

Willner will perform the song "Every Candle Has a Name," during the luminaria ceremony at 10 p.m. on Friday.

In addition to her role as corporate sponsor chair, Anderson is captain of the Anderson-Copeland family team, she said. Anderson lost her father, Don Copeland, to cancer in 2005 and lost her husband, Al Anderson, last August.

A free Relay for Life Street Dance kicks is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday in Sinkiuse Square, featuring live music by Copious Notes, a cover band featuring music from the 1950s to the present day.

Donations to Relay for Life will be accepted.

Sinkiuse Square is located at Third Avenue and Ash Street in downtown Moses Lake.

Relay for Life began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, walked and ran a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The event caught on and now 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the U.S., with communities in 20 other countries, participate in Relay for Life each year.

"It's going to be an amazing weekend," said Anderson. "A time to celebrate, remember and fight back."

Moses Lake High School is located at 803 E Sharon Ave.