Relay For Life Set For Friday In Woodbury

The Relay for Life of South Washington County begins Friday evening, when nearly 1,500 people will walk around the track at for 14 hours as part of a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

This is the second year the local Relay for Life has teamed up with the Cottage Grove event, said Mara Mayberry, the event co-chair. Since the Woodbury event began in the mid-1990s, about $1.4 million has been raised, she said.

This year’s Relay saw a big bump in participation, Mayberry said. Last year about 950 people participated—this year there will be 1,450 people walking in 130 teams.

A big part of that was the increase in youth-led teams, which Mayberry attributed to East Ridge High School student Ann Haering, who in February. Three teams are walking in her honor.

About 40 percent of the teams last year where led by high school students; it’s 50-55 percent this year, “which is remarkable,” Mayberry said.

This year will mark the third time student Emma Danbury, 16, has walked in the local Relay for Life. She formed a team with fellow National Junior Honor Society members when she was in eighth grade.

“I went and I had a lot of fun so I kept doing it,” said Danbury, whose grandfather is a cancer survivor. Her great-step-aunt was also recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Danbury’s original team grew so big that it was split into two groups. She’ll walk with Teens Fighting Against Cancer this year.

“I think it’s a lot of fun. There’s a huge number of people who participate, so it’s really awesome,” Danbury said.

Because it’s an overnight event, she said she usually thinks she will get some sleep.

“That never happens,” Danbury said. “There’s so much going on.”

The event runs from 6 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, though there will be activities beforehand starting at 4 p.m. It’s free for the public to attend, but Mayberry reminded people that it is a fundraiser and encouraged them to check out the popular silent auction, which features a Harmon Killebrew-signed baseball among about 200 items.

Also new this year, a band from School of Rock will perform and the games area will be expanded. Minnesota Landscapes has also created a “Relay Garden,” which will give participants a place to reflect on the meaning of the event, Mayberry said.

Still, her favorite part of the local Relay for Life is the luminaria ceremony—hundreds of small bags filled with sand and candles line the track in honor of those fighting cancer or have lost the battle to the disease. Mayberry, a breast cancer survivor, remembered seeing her name on a luminaria for the first time.

“It made me feel so great that I was remembered and recognized,” she said. “It was a very cool moment for me.”

Last year, the Relay for Life of South Washington County raised more than $218,000—making the local event No. 1 in the state—and organizers hope to hit $230,000 this year.

This year’s honorary survivor is Woodbury resident Karen Graves, a six-year breast cancer survivor. This will be her fifth year participating in the event.

“It really is a wonderful community gathering,” she said.

Her son will be part of the band playing at the Relay and her daughter is a team captain in her own right. “It’s really become a big family affair."

Her favorite part of the event is the Survivors Lap.

“Everyone is so excited and so happy,” Graves said. “You can not wipe the smile off my face.”

As this year’s honorary survivor, Graves will address the crowd. She said she plans to talk about how “cancer affects all of us and has left its mark.”

She said she understands that many people fighting the disease aren’t comfortable talking about it.

“But I also believe that everyone learns from the experiences of others,” Graves said.

She also hopes the event serves as a challenge to others to help those affected by cancer, whether that’s being on a Relay for Life team, driving someone to chemotherapy sessions or babysitting for a mother who has to go to surgery.

Graves encouraged the community to attend.

“It’s a big party. It’s absolutely a blast,” she said. “Everyone I know who goes always comes back.”