'Relay' moving to new location
By Travis Moshier Endeavor News

Potter County Relay For Life will use 'Strawberry Field' as its 24-hour walking event this year. A construction project at CARP Field will be in full swing when the 24-hour walking event takes place at the end of June.

Potter County Relay for Life will have a new home this year, due to construction activities at CARP Field.

The Relay, set for June 27-28, has been moved to the soccer fields on the Charles Cole Memorial Hospital grounds.

"The school district couldn't guarantee us the facility would be available," explained Fran Stewart, American Cancer Society representative for McKean and Potter counties. "CARP is a great facility, but I couldn't wait."

The soccer area, commonly referred to as Strawberry Field, should fit the bill, Stewart added.

"I think it's going to be a great facility," she said. "(The hospital staff) has been a tremendous help. We're really excited about this."

A walking path now in place encircling the field and an extension marked out through the grass will form the Relay path. Construction lights will be rented to illuminate the field.

The theme this year is "Beaches." It is also the 15th anniversary for the Relay and the 40th anniversary for the hospital.

"We're going to be doing a lot of celebrating," Stewart said.

Plans for the Relay include a Tiki Bar for a concession stand, the famous Miss Relay Pageant, a survivors' walk and the luminaria service.

Added to the traditional Relay motto this year is "Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back."

"We are asking what people are doing to fight cancer over 365 days a year, not just on Relay day," Stewart said. "We want folks to pledge how you will fight back."

The pledge doesn't have to be monetary, she explained, but could be as easy as eating five fruits or vegetables every day or getting tested for cancer.

This year's Relay will also be about more than just the survivors and lost loved ones.

"We really want to recognize the caregivers," Stewart said. These can be anyone from friends driving patients to appointments to people taking meals to patients, not excluding those who helped someone who has passed away, she explained.

Seventeen teams have already registered. Some have begun fund-raising, and a tubing benefit at Ski Denton is being planned for later this month.