The Heart of the Lakes Relay For Life on Friday, July 10, is the culmination of many months of planning and preparation by the Relay leadership team and its 20 teams.

Organizers are excited to have the public come out to the East Otter Tail Fairgrounds that evening to enjoy a fun-filled evening designed around a Monopoly game theme.

From the moment attendees “pass go” (the entrance), they will notice the area looks much like a Monopoly board, with team campsites organized into color bands, the familiar “Chance,” “Go to Jail,” and “Jail” spots, and much more.  

There will be countless activities for attendees to enjoy, and there is food and fun for everyone. The event is free and family-friendly, and it is a great place to visit with people. Some of the features include a silent auction, classic car show, Bingo,  inflatables, wacky hair, kids games, cancer education scavenger hunt, and numerous food choices. In keeping with the Monopoly theme, attendees can seek to put their favorite person in jail for a donation on the part of both parties. The “Chance” spot is the site where attendees might win cash prizes through Bingo, provided by the Perham Area Community Lions. 

Foremost in this fun-filled evening is the biggest reason to gather that night: to celebrate our cancer survivors.  The exciting and inspirational Survivors Lap takes place during the Opening Ceremony at 7:30 p.m.  Survivors attending the Relay are asked to register at the Survivors tent as they arrive, then later they will join together to walk the Survivors Lap, led by Honorary Co-Chairs Teresa Anderson and Cory Solberg. Later, at the Luminaria Ceremony (9:15), Teresa and Cory will share their stories of inspiration and hope. 

The evening’s schedule looks like this:

5:30 p.m. – Activities Begin-  Silent Auction, Classic Car Show, Bingo, Wacky Hair, Inflatables, Kids Games, Live Music, Education Scavenger Hunt, as well as many food options, including barbecued ribs, taco in a bag, baked potato bar, fry bread, smoothies and floats, turkey sandwiches, and baked items and cookies

7:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremony- Featuring Survivors Lap and Dove Release

8:15-9:15 p.m. – Activities Continue

8:30 p.m. – Announcement of winners: Cash Raffle, Car Show, Campsite Decorating

9:15 p.m. – Luminaria Ceremony and Luminary Lighting- Featuring speeches from Honorary Co-Chairs, Teresa Anderson and Cory Solberg

11 p.m. to 6 a.m. – All Night Hope Vigil- Public is invited to use the peaceful, candlelit venue for a time to honor or remember loved ones, pray, or gather to celebrate the life of a loved one

6 a.m. – Closing Ceremony and Clean Up 

Obviously, an event like this takes a great deal of preparation, and there are many things that need to be set up and taken down.  Organizers would be very grateful for assistance from the public on Relay day and/or the morning after. In particular, help is needed with luminary set-out at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon, when approximately 2,000 luminary bags need to be set in place, with sand and  candles in them. Anyone interested in helping with this task can come to the fairgrounds at 2 p.m. Likewise, the clean up of that number of luminaries—complete with plates, candles, and sand – is a daunting task, but it goes quite quickly with a lot of help, so assistance from the public at 6 a.m. would be wonderful. Students needing community service hours might find these opportunities helpful, as well.

Whether a person enjoys Bingo or Classic Cars or Silent Auctions, or whether one likes fry bread and sweets or a hearty helping of ribs, the Heart of the Lakes Relay For Life on Friday, July 10 has something for everyone.  Organizers hope everyone will come out to the EOT Fairgrounds at some point between 5:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back in true Relay For Life fashion.