Arlington Relay for Life set for June 23-24

While this year’s Marysville-Tulalip Relay For Life is done, the 2012 Arlington Relay For Life still lies ahead, on the weekend of June 23-24.

ARLINGTON — While this year’s Marysville-Tulalip Relay For Life is done, the 2012 Arlington Relay For Life still lies ahead, on the weekend of June 23-24.

Kay Duskin has been actively involved in helping to coordinate the Arlington Relay For Life since its debut in 2010, and she reported that it’s already recruited 121 teams made up of 1,148 registered participants, who have raised more than $176,000.

“We’ll have lots of new and expanded events in this year’s Relay, including a ‘Mr. Relay’ contest, two entertainment stages, stadium scavenger hunts, a ‘cocktail’ party for survivors, and some great food concessions,” Duskin said. “With our Disney theme, we have plenty of kid-friendly activities planned too.”

This year’s Arlington Relay will also help pitch in for the Arlington Community Food Bank, as each of its “Luminaria” bags will be anchored by cans of food, all of which will be donated to the food bank after the Relay.

As always, this year’s Arlington Relay For Life will take place in the John C. Larson Stadium at Arlington High School. The opening ceremony is set to kick off on Saturday, June 23, at 1 p.m., followed by the survivor lap at 2 p.m. The Luminaria ceremony will take place at 10 p.m. that same day, while the “Fight Back” closing ceremony will wrap up the event at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 24.

In the meantime, those looking to support this year’s Relay still have a succession of fundraisers to take part in between now and then, with a vendor fair at 202 N. West Ave. slated to run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 16. That same day, the Relay “Team Hope” is offering a car wash at the Co-Op on Olympic Avenue from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The “Champions of Hope” Relay teams are conducting a Zumba fundraiser on Friday, June 22, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for $10 per person.

Last year’s Arlington Relay For Life raised more than $290,000, beating the American Cancer Society’s goal of $250,000 for the event, with 155 teams and 1,849 individuals.

To donate to the Arlington Relay For Life online or to learn more, log onto www.relayforlife.org/arlingtonwa.