The 21st-annual Fayette County Relay for Life is set for this Friday.

The event lasts from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Washington High School track. Prior to the event will be the survivor banquet in the Washington High School cafeteria—survivors register for the event with one guest and will be provided rides to the track.

The luminary ceremony occurs during the relay—activities will stop while the track is lit with candles inside plastic jugs that have been purchased to honor those who have passed from or are currently battling cancer. The names of those being honored are read off during this ceremony.

The luminaries cost $10 and according to Ruth Ann Ruth, a chairwoman for the event, 200 luminaries have been sold so far. The ceremony will begin at dusk (approximately 9 p.m.) and donations are generally accepted until 8 p.m during the relay.

Teams can be formed and registered online. An example of a team would be coworkers at a business, their family and friends. There are smaller and larger numbers on different teams.

At the event, teams have their own campsite and are encouraged to decorate it, set up a fundraiser during the event to draw people in, and to have at least one team member walking the track at all times.

So far, there are 17 teams registered with 174 walkers. According to Ruth, registration can be done online or the day of the event. Their goal this year was to raise $45,000. So far they have raised $27,500.

Any team that raises $1,000 or more before the event is provided a tent for the event. Options for fundraising both before and during the event are numerous. Teams cannot duplicate what other teams have already registered to sell at the relay except for bottles of water. Visit RelayForLife.org/getstarted for fundraising ideas.

To provide sponsorship, contact Ruth at 740-335-1331 or at [email protected].

To see up-to-date information, including money raised by teams and walkers, visit http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY19NCR?pg=entry&fr_id=92151.

“We love to have people come at any time that is convenient for them. It is a great family event,” said Ruth.

Reach Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355.