Actress Luba Goy and young cancer survivor Noah Severino will be special guests at The Blue Mountains Relay For Life, July 18 and 19.
Goy, one of stars of CBC's Royal Canadian Air Farce, will be on hand to lend her support to the teams of Relay participants and cancer survivors. Having performed more than 3,000 characters in her Air Farce career, Goy's many honours include the Governor-General's Performing Arts Award, 15 ACTRA Awards, a Juno Award and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
Severino, a teenager from South River, was diagnosed with brain cancer as a nine-year-old in 2004. Now healthy, he serves as a young ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
The Relay For Life is a fundraising event for the Canadian Cancer Society. Teams of participants raise pledges for the 12-hour event. Each team has to have at least one member on the track at all times throughout the night. The Relay will take place on the track at Beaver Valley Community School from 7 p.m. Friday, July 18 to 7 a.m., Saturday, July 19.
Goy and Severino will be part of the opening festivities, beginning at 6:15 p.m., with music by disc jockey Jim Juniper.
The first Relay For Life in The Blue Mountains, last July, raised just over $40,000.
Organizer Lynda Valcourt said there is still space for more teams. As well, cancer survivors are invited to help kick off the Relay by taking part in the survivors' walk, the first lap of the relay.
You can also support the Cancer Society by purchasing a luminary, one of the candles that line the track during the night. Each candle is placed inside a fireproof sack that honours a cancer patient or survivor or remembers someone who lost their life to cancer.
Luminaries cost $5 each and can be purchased at New Orleans Pizza, in Thornbury, at Jazz By The Bay prior to July 18, or at the Relay.
The Relay will get underway at 7 p.m., Friday, July 18, with a Children's Parade. Parents of children who would like to participate should contact Valcourt for information, at 519-599-6804 or Pat Eastley at 519-599-2369.
