- North Shore Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, Saturday, June 20, 4-10 p.m., at Mahon Park, North Vancouver. All ages. relayforlife.ca/northshorebc
Community members are encouraged to register for the Canadian Cancer Society's North Shore Relay for Life, which, since its inception in 2003, has raised $2.8 million for research and support programs serving local people affected by the disease.
For 2015, organizers have decided to change the format of the event, previously 12 hours in duration. Supporters are encouraged to challenge themselves to walk or run distances ranging from five kilometres to a full marathon on their own or as part of a team, between 4 and 10 p.m. at North Vancouver's Mahon Park, Saturday, June 20.
"We've been seeing a bit of a downward trend over the last four to five years in relay participation, not just in North Vancouver, but province-wide," says event spokeswoman Brooke Sherwood, team lead of community giving for the greater Vancouver area, for the Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. and Yukon Division.
"We know people have busy lives and so after talking about it a little bit the feedback we got was that, 'Hey, you know what? We really want to support you, but 12 hours is a long time. We understand why it's 12 hours because it's supposed to be difficult because a cancer journey is not easy and that's what it's supposed to emulate.' So we said, 'You know what, what if we switched it to six?' So this year we are really excited about having a condensed, six-hour format that still captures the pillars of the event, which includes our luminary ceremony and our survivor celebration," she says.
Peter Twist, president and CEO of Twist Sport Conditioning, has been supporting the North Shore Relay for Life for the last three years.
"It's a great sense of friendship and community. I go there to help support it and raise some money for a very important cause that many, many people unfortunately are going to need to draw upon," says Twist, a cancer survivor. He has put together a team of staff and clients for this year's event.
Twist encourages anyone who has been touched by cancer directly or within their friend and family networks to participate.
"It is a pretty meaningful day. I think it can be very motivating and very healing for people at the same time if they've been associated, even loosely, with cancer. It can be a great thing for them to experience," he says.
In addition to the physical challenge, relay participants will be treated to festivities, including a silent auction, massages, children's activities, food as well as entertainment by band Me and Mae.
