Relay For Life in Roselle kicks off with Drifter concert Friday

Posted August 20, 2024 6:34 am

Submitted by Carol Kurczak

This year’s Relay For Life will feature a “Concert in the Park” with Drifter performing country and rock hits on Friday, Aug. 23. Courtesy of Drifter

Relay For Life of Northwest DuPage County and Northwest Cook County returns Friday, Aug. 23, to Roselle, with special events, including a concert, ice cream social and luminaria walk.

The event kicks off with “Concert in the Park,” a Relay For Life event featuring the band Drifter, which hails from the Northwest suburbs. The group plays a variety of music, from country classics to rock legends, and a few surprises. There also will be children’s activities and the Sweetest Moments Treats food truck.

The site opens at 6 p.m., with entertainment beginning at 7:15 p.m. at the Turner Park pavilion, Roselle Road and Devon Avenue in Roselle.

This year's opening ceremony will feature a tribute to Maryann Grygiel, center, who passed away in July. She served as event lead for the local Relay For Life for many years. Courtesy of Relay For Life

The opening ceremony starts at 7 p.m. with a tribute to Maryann Grygiel, who had been a part of the local Relay for over 20 years and was the event lead for most of that time. Grygiel passed away in July. The community is invited to come and celebrate her life during the opening ceremony.

Cancer survivors will be honored at the opening ceremony. This year survivors will be treated to an ice cream social. Connect with other survivors and caregivers, inspire someone newly diagnosed, lend an ear to someone in a similar situation, and be a part of a community where cancer is faced together, not individually. Survivors who sign up online will receive a link to receive a Survivor T-shirt.

Dedicate a luminaria to honor, in support, or in memory of a loved one touched by cancer. Luminarias are placed around Turner Pond and lit at dusk as each name is announced during the Luminaria Walk. Each light represents a life — a life taken by cancer, the life of a cancer survivor, or the life of someone still fighting the disease. It is a powerful demonstration that gives people the opportunity to grieve, but also offers comfort and hope, a light in the darkness.

Donations are $10 each. Order ahead of time on the website or purchase at the Relay.

Join the American Cancer Society Relay For Life on Friday, Aug. 23. Courtesy of Relay For Life

Relay For Life is the largest, most inspiring and supportive cancer fundraising event. American Cancer Society Relay For Life events bring communities together to raise funds, raise awareness, and rally together in the fight against cancer.

Donations help fund groundbreaking cancer research to find answers and better treatments, patient care services and support such as free rides to chemo, lodging near hospitals, information, guidance to patients and families, education and early detection programs, advocacy, and a 24/7 helpline, (800) 227-2345.

A favorite way to make a donation is to purchase a luminaria for $10. Luminaria bags honor every life touched by cancer. Courtesy of the American Cancer Society

Relay For Life of Northwest DuPage County and Northwest Cook County especially welcomes participants from Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Elk Grove Village, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Itasca, Medinah, Roselle, Schaumburg, and Streamwood.

To learn more, to register, to make a donation, or to dedicate a luminaria, visit RelayForLife.org/NWDuPageIL.

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