Another Successful Relay For Life Event (photos)

The American Cancer Society Berkshire County Relay for Life fundraiser event once again returned to Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington this past Friday and Saturday (June 22 and June 23).

WSBS was part of the event as we provided live coverage on Friday afternoon into Friday evening as well as for several hours on Saturday morning/afternoon from underneath the big white entertainment tent. The main focus for Relay was for the community to come together in the fight against cancer and they did just that. Relay for Life had folks from all over Berkshire County fighting the fight at Monument. Not only we're people joining in to fight cancer, there were plenty of celebrations and events taking place as well.

New this year, Relay provided a paint and sip event with folks painting an image of the yellow brick road from the 'Wizard of Oz.' The paint and sip event was hosted by the Cancer Terminators team. Whiskey City made their first appearance at the Monument Mountain High School location for Relay. As usual, they put on a stellar performance. The Rustic Thunder Cloggers put on a unique and fun performance. They're one of the few clogging groups that you'll find in and around the Berkshires. Also, magician Ellen Swan Mazzer performed a magic show with local youth participating in the fun.

In addition, there were the traditional events that folks looked forward to including the survivor walk/caregiver lap, the pancake breakfast hosted by Team Eric, bingo, the 50/50 golf ball drop, the butterfly release and more. Because the theme this year was there's "No Place Like Hope," folks had the opportunity to enjoy the Wizard of Oz on the big screen during the overnight hours from Friday into Sunday. One of the more visual awe inspiring and emotional activities that took place was the luminaria ceremony on Friday evening.

I spoke with co-lead Ray Gardino and he was very pleased with the turnout, participation and hard work that everybody put into making this year's Relay another success. As of about noon on Saturday, the Berkshire County division of Relay for Life raised approximately $71,000 out of the $100,000 goal with donations still coming in. According to Gardino, the fundraiser will continue through August. You can make a donation by going here.

We at WSBS can't wait to participate at the event again in 2019 (event pics below)