Plans advance for 21st Relay for Life in Colfax

Plans are advancing for the 21st edition of the Whitman County Relay for Life in Colfax, according to Taylor Johnson, community coordinator with the American Cancer Society office in Spokane.

“We're doing really well, we have a lot of entertainment lined up, and we're getting new sponsors on board, ” she said.

The relay is scheduled to begin at McDonald Park June 10-11, with a 6 p.m. start time June 10 and 6 a.m. finish the next morning, Saturday, June 11.

The relay has been scheduled at McDonald Park this year because renovations are expected to be underway at the high school track.

Relay for Life organizers are looking for silent auction items.

“If people want to be a part of Relay but don't necessarily want to be a part of a team, we could always use silent auction items,” Johnson said.

The silent auction will commence after the opening ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday. She said items that could be donated are things such as goodie baskets, candles, quilts, household items and appliances. The money raised from the silent auction will go toward the $40,000 fundraising goal.

Gail Webster, event leader, said each team contributes something to the silent auction, but other items are welcome.

In addition to silent auction items, the event organizers are also looking for decorations to go with the relay theme, which is Mardi Gras.

Johnson said registration will be open all the way up to the event.

“There's no closing, people can even register at the event if they want to,” she said.

Webster noted more people are always welcome.

“Anybody can be a participant and can join any team,” she said. “If people want to participate, they don't have to be part of a team, they can just participate.”

Nine teams had registered by the end of April, with “a few more prospective teams” in the works, Johnson said.

“Last year, we had 12 teams, so we're looking really good right now,” Johnson said.

Webster said one of the unique teams this year will be a bank team.

“We will have participants from all the banks in Colfax,” she said.

Anyone with questions can contact Gwen Nolan, sponsorship chair; Webster, or Johnson. Johnson can be reached at Spokane's American Cancer Society office at 509-302-8445. Additionally, anyone interested in donating Mardi Gras decorations can do so by contacting Webster at [email protected].