THE RELAY for Life welcomed cancer survivors, their friends and families to raise money to fight cancer at the Skeena Middle School track yesterday, June 1.
Although threatening to rain, the sky remained sunny for the kick off of the event, the survivors' lap.
Survivors all decked out in their yellow shirts gathered and listened to several speeches, including Sandy Glendenning, a survivor herself.
She advised those who don't have cancer to do what they can to avoid it.
"We are an elite group and we don't want you to join us," said Glendenning about the survivors.
As the lap began, Tooth Fairy Camryn Reiter blessed everyone with her magic wand as they walked past her.
When the survivors rounded the final corner of the track, they received flowers and a salute from local dragon boaters, who stood on both sides of the track and raised their paddles for a "victory arch" for all the survivors who walked by.
They were about to put down their paddles when they spotted a man walking by himself, the last person of the survivors lap, Victor Cavalheiro and lifted their paddles again just for him.
The relay continued throughout the day and finished 12 hours later with the luminary lap, which lights up the track as participants carry luminaries with them.
Money raised through the annual Relay for Life, held across the country, go to research, provide information and support programs and help the society advocate for policies to help people reduce the risk of preventable cancers.