Above: This weekend, the community is invited to swing by (or sleepover at) an annual event dedicated to the fight against cancer. (pre-2020 photo cropped from Facebook)
Updated (5/9/25 4:20 pm): The weather is putting a big damper on the event, but it’s not cancelled. Instead, it will be limited to end at 11:00 pm. (See the Instagram update here.)
Organizers for NSBORO’s Relay for Life are inviting the public to help them raise money for the American Cancer Society this weekend. The event is also used to honor people affected by cancer and celebrate survivors.
The annual fundraiser is put on by the Northborough-Southborough chapter run by Algonquin students to support the fight against cancer. It’s a 12 hour relay walk with activities. But a co-Advisor told the Community Advocate:
“Anybody can join, and if you only want to come for a few hours and stop in, we’re always happy to have anybody that wants to participate,” [Sarah Lawlor] said. “We would love to have more community members, more people that are aware of it and that want to participate so that we can help make it large, like it used to be.”
Registration to participate only costs $25. But to stay overnight, participants must raise at least $100. (See details from instagram promos right.)
The event runs from the evening of Friday, May 9th through early the following morning. Prior to the main event, there is a traditional 5:00 pm “Survivor Dinner” for cancer survivors and their caretakers. That is followed by the opening ceremonies at 6:00 pm. Teams of walkers pass off their turns walking the track to keep a relay going for the full 12 hours. Throughout the night, there are food, games, and speeches.
The CA article described the “powerful” Luminaria Ceremony that takes place during the event:
participants take a silent walk around the track, placing glow sticks into decorated bags in honor or memory of those touched by cancer. By the end, the entire track is illuminated.
“It’s very hard nowadays to find someone who has not been in some way affected by cancer, whether they know somebody personally, or they’ve heard of a friend of a friend or they themselves have been affected by it,” Lawlor said.
To read the CA’s full story, click here.
To register to participate or support the fundraiser, click here.
