Learn about Relay, view art at kickoff event

 

This story on the Relay For Life kickoff was published in Monday’s (Feb. 19, 2024) edition of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA. If you can make it, the kickoff event to the June 8th relay will be held Thursday, Feb. 22 at the Attleboro Arts Museum from 6 to 8 p.m.
The link to the story, as it appears on the newspaper’s website follows: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/relay-for-life-to-kickoff-2024-event-feb-22-at-attleboro-arts-museum/article_96cf7869-2fd2-5089-9692-3b24fdcd739a.html  
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ATTLEBORO --- The Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro to benefit the American Cancer Society (ACS) will hold the kickoff for its reimagined 2024 event from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22 at the Attleboro Arts Museum, 86 Park St., Attleboro, with a snow date of Wednesday, Feb. 28 at the same time.
During the kickoff, information will be shared about this year’s 26th annual event, which is scheduled to be held 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 8 at Norton High School.
Starting this year, the relay will be changing from an 18-hour overnight event to a one-day one to attract more people and families after years of dwindling participation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Megan Demoura, a longtime volunteer with the Taunton relay before joining the Greater Attleboro relay’s Event Leadership Team in 2022, is the chair of this year’s organizing committee. She said she’s excited about the new format, which will include all of the traditional relay features as well as many new ones.
“For the last 11 years, Relay For Life has been a big part of my life,” Demoura said. “This year is no different, except I’m honored to be sitting on the committee as the lead chair. The committee is working hard to put together a wonderful kickoff event and an even bigger day event” in June. 
The staples of the relays over the last quarter-century will return. Those will include an opening ceremony and lap, a survivors’ lap and dinner and a luminary ceremony in the evening, which will again feature decorated paper bags lit in memory of cancer victims and in honor of cancer survivors. And, as always, team members, individuals and visitors will be invited to walk around the track throughout the 12 hours.
Some of the potential new events that could be held June 8 include a craft fair; activities for families, including a Touch-A-Truck; entertainment, including from longtime Attleboro DJ Nate Adams, who again will donate his services; food trucks; and team raffles, with all proceeds going to the cancer society.
The kickoff, which is open to anyone interested in learning more about the relay, will also give attendees the chance to check out two new museum art exhibits.
Museum Executive Director and Chief Curator Mim Brooks Fawcett is delighted with the fusing of the relay with the exhibits’ bold and groundbreaking art.
“The Attleboro Arts Museum is proud to continue partnering with the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro to help raise awareness for this important cause. Our artists, members and patrons appreciate the vital work of the American Cancer Society, and our hosting of the 2024 kickoff is a true honor,” Fawcett said.
The art exhibits to be featured during the kickoff will be:
* “A Contemporary Narrative,” which will run Feb. 15-29 and feature a collection of pieces gifted to the museum by the family of Civil War Union Major Everett Southworth Horton of Attleboro. The collection is the last remaining component of the early days of the museum’s holdings when it included items of historical interest along with works of art.
The exhibit will match selections from the collection with a contemporary work created by a local Black visual artist. Each artwork will represent an interpretation of the Civil War piece in the artist’s personal style. More info: https://attleboroartsmuseum.org/a-contemporary-narrative/ in the Ottmar Gallery
* In the Community Gallery, the Viktor Schreckengost Mangbetu Award Art Student Group Exhibition will be on display through March 9.
It features 12 museum art students showcasing cityscape drawings. Students range in age from 9 to 13 and the exhibit showcases art they created during the museum’s fall 2023 session under the guidance of museum art educator Lisa Granata. More info: https://attleboroartsmuseum.org/community-gallery-schedule/ in the Community Gallery
The Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro draws teams and participants from most Attleboro area communities, including Attleboro, North Attleboro, Mansfield, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk and Wrentham, but interested people from any community are encouraged to attend both the Feb. 22 kickoff and June’s event.
Information: Contact Libbey Mitchell, a development manager for the ACS, at libbey.mitchell@cancer.org or Demoura at teamladybugs@yahoo.com.
If you’d like to form or join a team or volunteer for the relay, go to: www.relayforlife.org/greaterattleboroma


 

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