All Are Welcome Saturday At

Relay’s All American Picnic

On June 13 Newtown will come together as a community once again to celebrate survivorship, remember loved ones lost, and to fight back against cancer as the 2009 Relay For Life of Newtown and Kids For A Cure mini relay step off at Fairfield Hills.

Relay Chair Necole Salvesen said the Fairfield Hills Authority is working closely with Newtown Parks & Recreation staff to ensure the Relay’s new location is in tip-top shape for the popular local gathering, which rivals the town’s Labor Day Parade in overall attendance. Relay activities will be concentrated in the field along Wasserman Way, just to the left of the campus’s main entrance where the bulk of Newtown Tercentennial events were held in 2005.

“The campus is taking shape as the Fairfield Hills Authority prepares to host our annual event,” Ms Salvesen said. “And in keeping with the theme of ‘An All-American Picnic,’ we want to invite everyone in the community to stop by. Admission is free and there lots to do and see, and we’ll have some great activities for children and adults all the way until midnight, and picnic-style food being served up by Rob ‘Coach’ Frangione.”

Coach Frangione has teamed up with Brian Neumeyer and his culinary students at Newtown High School to provide an option for the students to fulfill their end of the year school project requirements. Offerings will be in the Texas Barbeque theme with pulled-pork sandwiches, BBQ chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos, corn on the cob, chili, homemade brownies, corn bread, all priced between $2 and $5.50.

“We are excited to bring special guests and speakers to the event, including Connecticut’s very own talented recording artist, Javier Colon,” Ms Salvesen said. Entertainment organizers said Mr Colon, who resides in the Hartford area, is scheduled to perform during the opening ceremonies at 5:30 pm, Saturday, June 13.

 “Javier’s just released duet ‘October Sky’ with multiple Grammy nominee Vanessa Williams was a top download last week on iTunes,” said Relay entertainment chair John Voket. “And our Relay may be one of the last chances to catch his tremendous talents for free in this kind of intimate community environment.”

 The artist will perform a brief set, which will likely include the emotional and touching song “OK, Here’s The Truth,” which Mr Voket said speaks to anyone who has ever faced a cancer diagnosis themselves, or who has had a loved one in that situation.

Kids Supporting A Cure

The Kids For A Cure mini relay, which takes place from 3 to 5 pm, will bring out local students and their parents representing most, if not all, of Newtown’s schools. Radio station 98Q and its “street team” will be on hand for a period of time with prizes.

“Other activities include our motivating Luminaria Ceremony, we’ll have music and entertainment throughout the day and evening from DJ Rodd Blessey, as well as some words of inspiration and a meet and greet with honorary chair and co-chair, Ken and Jennifer Ayles,” Ms Salvesen said. “And these are just a few examples of the event’s highlights.”

A New Beginning salon will be sponsoring the Pantene Beautiful Lengths cut-a-thon, the Miss Relay contest is back — featuring some of Newtown’s most fetching beauties, she added. And all attendees are invited to take part in the Relay’s “Fight Back” ceremony at 11:30 pm.

Current and past armed services personnel, emergency services workers, police and firefighters are still being sought to participate in the 30-minute “Walk With A Hero” auction that will take place at 8:30 pm. And local school, government, business, and community leaders and celebrities are wanted to sit in the Newtown Savings Bank dunk tank, which will be open and available throughout the Kids For A Cure and Relay events.

Anyone wanting to participate in either of these activities should contact Mr Voket, who is also an associate editor at The Newtown Bee, at 203-509-2246, or by email before noon, Saturday, at: johnvoket@gmail.com.

Ms Salvesen also put the final call out to the community’s cancer survivors and those who have loved and cared for them.

“We hope to see all the community’s survivors and caregivers at the survivors’ lounge tent on the Relay grounds, and participating along with any current or past caregivers during the emotionally-charged survivors/caregivers opening lap,” Ms Salvesen said. “Our survivors are one of the many reasons we come together to Relay and we hope to honor them as we open up this year’s Relay.”

What began in 1985 as one man’s passion to make a difference in the fight against cancer has swelled into the world’s largest nonprofit fundraising movement, today involving more than 5,000 communities worldwide, including more than 60 in Connecticut. Today, community Relays For Life, like the one this weekend in Newtown, make up a truly global grassroots movement uniting more than 3.5 million participants in the United States and 19 other countries.

Relay For Life provides cancer survivors, their loved ones and caregivers, and others an opportunity to come together and share in the message of hope.

25 Years Of Awareness

In 2009, Relay For Life commemorates its 25th year looking back on Dr Gordy Klatt’s 83-mile journey around a Tacoma, Wash., athletic track, where in walking, running, and raising $27,000 for the American Cancer Society, the colorectal surgeon established the very first Relay For Life.

Relay For Life participants’ unified call to action supports the American Cancer Society’s nearly 100-year commitment to save lives. The society, the nation’s best-known voluntary health organization, helps people stay well, by preventing cancer or detecting it early; get well, by being in their corner through every step of their cancer experience; by finding cures, through groundbreaking research and treatment discoveries; and by fighting back, through influencing public policy.

Relayers from across Connecticut honor this legacy when they gather for their respective community’s overnight Relay celebrating loved ones who have battled cancer, remembering those who have lost their lives to cancer, and committing to fight back against the disease.

“Relay For Life affords local towns a wonderful opportunity to participate in the American Cancer Society’s mission of promoting healthy lifestyles, saving lives, and providing personal assistance to those affected by the cancer experience. We’ve seen such great progress in all these areas, and Relay gives the chance to make a difference in so many lives,” said Patrice Bedrosian, state director of communications for the American Cancer Society.

See the full page ad in this edition of The Newtown Bee for a schedule of Relay For Life Activities, or visit www.relayforlife.org/newtownct.