20th Year For Relay For Life

Friday, 24 May 2019 at 07:18

To commemorate 20 years in Woodstock, this year's Relay For Life will feature many activities on and off the track.

WOODSTOCK - Relay for Life returns to Woodstock next month.

This year's walk will be the event's 20th anniversary.

Community Champion and cancer survivor John Hunt will be among the participants.

Hunt says it can be emotional during the walk, including for those watching on the sidelines.

"The thing, and I've said this for many years, as a survivor doing that survivor lap yeah it's emotional but the neat part is we're not the people walking who have the tears, it's the people on the sidelines that are clapping and cheering us on. And there's been so many times and not just here in Woodstock but when I've done other events, I'll see somebody standing there, they're trying to make a smile through the tears and you just go over and give them a hug. And I think they appreciate that as much as I would."

Hunt has been participating in Relay for Life for 17 years and he'll be speaking before the event.

He says he always connects with people at these events, receiving a positive reaction from them.

"It's pretty neat because I get so many people that come up and go, 'hey I remember you,' and then I get a big hug. And that seems to be the thing with cancer survivors, you don't shake hands, you hug them. And when I go to Toronto or Hamilton I run into somebody that I know through Relay for Life, you just hug. It's pretty special. I've maintained since the beginning that I'm different but I'm also very lucky. I've got a great support system and I think my positive attitude has helped carry me through all of this because it has been quite a journey."

This year's Relay for Life will feature many activities on and off the track, including live entertainment from the Small Town Girls and a singer from Toronto.

Community Fundraising Specialist for the Canadian Cancer Society of Oxford, Hailey Parliament says the event happens throughout many communities across the country, bringing people together.

"It's definitely something that goes across communities and really brings the community together to show that community is bigger than cancer."

People can visit the Canadian Cancer Society in Woodstock to learn more information and they can also go online to register.

Relay for Life is on June 14th at College Avenue Secondary School, going from 6:00pm to 12:00am.