There will be something for everyone on the main stage at Relay For Life. In between the emotional, moving ceremonies, which are the backbone of Relay, there will be a wide variety of entertainment to help keep the walkers, team members and visiting public entertained all night long. Leading off the evening’s entertainment will be McIntosh High School jazz band. The group of local high school students will get the crowd warmed up for the Torch of Hope lighting as the play from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
A highlight of Relay each year is the Miss Relay ‘beauty’ pageant. Male contestants dress in formal evening gowns and collect donations based on their obvious external ‘beauty.’ They will be introduced to the Relay audience at 5:30 p.m.; they will then have the next two hours to raise donations from the crowd. Miss Relay will be crowned at approximately 8 p.m.
The Fayette County High School dance team and the classic rock and reggae group Sideways will entertain the crowd from 6-6:30 p.m. Harley Owners Group Club Number 2505 Great South Chapter from Newnan and the Chic-fil-A Moo Cow bikers will again be the honor guard leading the torch into the fairgrounds for the annual Torch of Hope lighting. After the Torch of Hope is lit by the 2010 Torch of Hope Ambassadors, Hood Avenue Primary School teacher Kathy Warren and Fayette Christian Academy first grader Raman Franklin, the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Relay For Life of Fayette County will begin.
The Opening Ceremonies will be conducted by returning Masters of Ceremonies Evan Stitt and Michael Houghtaling. Evan is a resident of Peachtree City and Vice President at Norcom, Inc. in Griffin. Stitt and his wife, Susan, have participated in the last seven Relay For Life of Fayette County. Local theater performer and FAA employee Michael Houghtaling will return as Co-Master of Ceremonies. Houghtaling and his wife, Andrea, live in Fayetteville and are the parents of five children. Joining Stitt and Houghtaling will be the disc jockey husband and wife team of Merv & Lisa Sweeting. The Sweetings are residents of Fayetteville. Lisa is a teacher at Madras Middle School in Coweta County and is a colon cancer survivor. Merv, her husband and caregiver, is a Jack of all trades at Alcan Packaging in Peachtree City. He has been a DJ for 12 years and the operator of his own business, Positive Vibes, since 2004.
Assisting with the Relay For Life Opening ceremony will be an Honor Guard from the Knights of Columbus of St. Gabriel Catholic Church. Pastor George Dillard from Peachtree City Christian Church will be doing the invocation. Singing the National Anthem will be Starr’s Mill High School alumni Emma and Sarah Stitt.
Following the Relay kick off laps; the Survivor Lap, the Caregiver Lap, the Delta Airlines lap, the Fayette County Schools lap and the Relay For Life team lap will be a whole host of entertainment. Just some of the acts that are scheduled to appear at this year’s Relay include a break dance demonstration from The HBO (Home Boys Only) Crew and the latest exercise craze, Zumba, will be performed by representatives of Piedmont Fayette Hospital.
At 9 p.m. the festivities will take a moment to pause and reflect on those who have battled cancer during the Luminary Ceremony. To make sure the crowd knows that a very special ceremony is about to start, a group of Hush Angels is sent around the track to remind everyone to “Hush.” All Relay participants will then walk one silent lap in honor and memory of everyone who has battled cancer.
Following the Luminary Ceremony will be teen sensation and recording artist, 15 year old Lindee Link. At age eight Link began singing with Kid Call, a Nashville based booking agency. She has worked on Kids Picks Hit Mix, Veggie Tales, Scribble and Sing, Praise Baby and various Disney projects for Kid Call. She recently was a featured interviewer and artist on Delta Airlines February 2009 In-Flight Entertainment network hosting, “Link Up! With Lindee Link,” a program featuring some of her music as well as that of other up-and-coming “tween” artists. She released her first album, “Take Me There,” last August.
During the night the Relay For Life Spirit Committee will keep participants busy and full of positive spirit with several planned contests, events, and themed laps. Participants will compete for the honor of Most Spirited Relay For Life team awards all night long.
When Relay participants are so tired they don’t think they can walk another lap, they will be whipped into shape by local resident David Monsour and members of Operation Boot Camp. Operation Boot Camp is a 30 day outdoor fitness and nutrition program. The group will demonstrate and lead drills in physical fitness at 6 a.m., right before the dawn Fight Back Relay For Life 2010 Closing Ceremony.
