Residents inside the parish should see a lot of purple on March 12, as members of the community don the color in honor of the upcoming “Relay for Life” event, which is a camp out against cancer. During the day, the power of purple is used to bring good news to cancer survivors and mobilize the parish to participate in the relay, which begins at 6 p.m. on March 28.
“This is the first time that we are having ‘Paint the Town Purple’ as such a large event,” Lacy Adams, the committee chair for Relay for Life, said. “After going to a national convention in Memphis, we saw how big Relay for Life was in several other cities, and we wanted it to be just as big here.”
The Relay for Life committee had over 200 purple ribbons to sell to schools and businesses in the area with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.
There are none left now.
“We just want to raise awareness for Relay for Life, and also for the fight against cancer inside St. Charles Parish,” Adams said.
Along with businesses and schools in the area, all government employees have been asked to wear purple on March 12.
“So many people in the parish, and so many people in parish government, have had their lives touched by cancer,” parish spokeswoman Renee Simpson said. “This is a chance for parish employees and parish residents to come together in the spirit of solidarity to celebrate, remember and fight back.”
The parish’s fundraising, which is usually done a week before Relay for Life, will be moved to the week after the event because of the Trash Bash on March 14. That fundraising usually consists of various departments cooking food and selling the dishes to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society’s signature event, is held annually to raise money to fight cancer, raise awareness about cancer, celebrate the victory of those who beat the disease and pay tribute to those who did not.
Two of the main events of the relay are the Cancer Survivor Celebration and the Luminary Ceremony.
The Cancer Survivor Celebration is where the community gets the chance to honor the brave men and women who looked cancer in the eye and walked away victorious. During the celebration, the survivors enjoy punch and food before getting the chance to walk relay style around the West Bank Bridge Park grounds. While they walk, each survivor is identified to the community and the crowd is told exactly what type of cancer the person had.
The Luminary Ceremony will begin at 9 p.m. During this event, luminary bags, numbering between 1,500 and 3,000 are lit in honor of both those fighting cancer and those that have lost their lives to the disease.
The bags will also be placed on the levee to form the word ‘hope’ in remembrance of the continuing struggle against cancer.
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