Relay for Life kicks off week-long event in Idaho Falls Saturday night
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IDAHO FALLS – The annual Relay for Life committee in Idaho Falls is kicking off a week of live and virtual events Saturday night.
Saturday’s event is happening at the New Sweden Corn Maze at 3662 West 17th Street at 6 p.m.
“It’s a good opportunity for people to come out and experience the corn maze (while raising money for a good cause),” Event chairperson Angie Daw tells EastIdahoNews.com.
The cost of admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids 3-17 and kids 3 and under are free. The corn maze owners will use a portion of the proceeds to take care of expenses for the night, but the rest of the profits will be donated to help fund cancer research with the American Cancer Society.
The theme for this year’s event is “One More – dollar raised, life saved, Hero made.”
Relay for Life is normally a one-day event that includes opening ceremonies, recognition of cancer survivors in the community with lots of entertainment and ends with a luminaries ceremony. Daw says the COVID-19 health crisis has forced them to hold the event over the course of a week and include a combination of live and virtual activities.
“We’ve definitely had a harder time getting sponsorships this year … which is understandable. It’s a hard year for everybody,” says Daw. “We’re still going to be able to raise a lot of money and do a lot of good, despite the Coronavirus.”
Saturday’s event at the corn maze will go until 10 p.m. Rowley White RV is providing concessions.
A survivor quilt and team gift online auction will take place on the Relay for Life Facebook page Sunday at 7 p.m.
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls is sponsoring a survivor drive-thru at Pick Me Up at 900 Pancheri Drive in Idaho Falls from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, followed by a virtual opening ceremony and survivor recognition on Facebook at 7 p.m.
A variety of other events are happening Tuesday and Wednesday.
Relay for Life will wrap up on Thursday with a virtual Luminaria and closing ceremony at 7 p.m. sponsored by Teton Cancer Institute. A full schedule of events is below this article.
“We have an amazing committee. They’ve all been working real hard. They’ve all been affected by cancer and it has been a hard year with coronavirus, but even with that, cancer still, unfortunately, affects a lot of people, so it’s still a good battle to fight,” Daw says.
About $110,000 were raised during last year’s event. Daw says they’d like to surpass that amount this year, but they understand that may not be feasible in light of the pandemic.
“We felt it was still important to push through despite all the craziness this year to try and raise as much money as we could,” she says. “We’re not going to beat ourselves up too bad if we don’t make it.”
If you’re not able to attend any of the events, you can still donate through Venmo @IFrelayforlife. Visit the Relay for Life Facebook page to follow what’s happening this week.
