Friday's Internet Edition, July 04, 2008.

It should be a circus atmosphere Friday night at Roane County High School for the 10th annual Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

The theme for this year’s event, which begins at 7 p.m. and will wrap up after midnight, is “Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back.” Kelly Jett, co-chair of the Relay with April Marshall, said the celebration aspect would include a circus theme.

“The teams will have a circus-type theme (at their sites) and there will be things like a dunking booth and carnival games,” Jett said. “Even though this is a serious event, it can be something that people enjoy.”

Jett said 23 teams have signed up to participate, with a total of 403 members. Many more people are expected to show up for the event at the County Stadium track. No pets, alcohol or tobacco products are permitted.

Among the reasons to celebrate a decade of Relays is the amount of money raised for the ACS. The first event took in about $10,000, Jett said, while last year’s topped its $78,000 goal with $80,600.

This year’s goal has been set at $80,000, with $59,621.66 already collected by Relay teams in advance of Friday.

“That’s pretty impressive, especially for a small community like ours,” Jett said of the history of fundraising. “A lot of people are touched by cancer in their families or close friends — in some way it’s affected their lives. They know they can do good things (through the Relay).”

Funds raised from the event go to research, with a percentage staying in the local area to support ACS programs such as those that provide rides or gasoline cards to patients in need of out-of-town treatments, or wigs for those who have lost their hair.

Teams can begin setting up their sites at 10 a.m. Friday. A dinner for cancer survivors will start at 5 p.m., with registration beginning at 5:30.

The Relay’s opening ceremony at 7 p.m. will include the survivors’ lap, followed by the caregivers’ lap and a lap by county students who raised money through events at their schools. Walkers from all the teams will be on the track after the ceremonial laps.

The Road to Recovery car show and race is set for 8:15 p.m. Jett said she expects the race to be one of the highlights of this year’s event as teams compete in homemade “cars.”

Luminaria in honor or memory of cancer patients will be lit during a solemn ceremony at 9:30 p.m. that will be followed by a T-shirt design contest at 10, a frozen T-shirt contest at 10:30 and a dance contest at 11.

The evening will conclude with a brief Fight Back ceremony scheduled to start at 12:30 a.m. Jett said the closing would be in keeping with the upbeat atmosphere.

“We want to close out on a happy note and give people ideas on how to fight back and stay positive,” she said.