Relay for Life takes to the streets with downtown ‘Party at the Park’ on April 30

Published 5:00 am Saturday, April 2, 2022

Relay for Life is taking it to the streets this year, with a festival-like celebration that’ll look pretty familiar to anyone who’s dropped in on pedestrian-friendly Cullman crowd pleasers like 2nd Fridays or the Strawberry Festival.

In a thematic shift aimed at broadening the annual local event’s appeal, Relay organizers are setting up shop in Depot Park and the surrounding closed-off streets for a stroll-friendly “Party at the Park” fundraiser that, as always, highlights stories of overcoming cancer and remembering those whose lives the disease has claimed.

Set for April 30, this year’s Relay expands dramatically on the idea behind last year’s drive-thru event along First Avenue in Cullman’s Warehouse district, featuring food trucks, a kids’ corner, a cornhole tournament, and a rotating slate of musical entertainment. The keynote speaker at Party at the Park will be TV newscaster Rick Karle, himself a cancer survivor and an advocate for raising money and awareness to find a cure.

Tapping into the park’s flag-festooned atmosphere, the theme for this year’s Relay is “United We Stand,” linking the unity among survivors and supporters with the common ground people share as Americans. Arnold Street, which separates the Warehouse District from the park, will be closed to traffic into the evening hours, where food trucks from Cha Cha’s Shaved Ice, Mom & M’s, Lena’s Rolling Kitchen, and Homecoming Sideshow will be serving up treats as guests pass between the main park venue and the luminaria-lined street along First Avenue.

April 30 falls on a Saturday, and Relay for Life’s Party in the Park is set to kick off at 3 p.m. and run through 10 p.m. Key pieces of each year’s Relay event will fall at their usual times: The survivors’ lap will start at 6 p.m., with the luminaria ceremony unfolding after dark at 9 p.m. Any local cancer survivor who wishes to share how long they’ve been cancer-free is welcome to take part in the stage kickoff to the survivors’ lap.

All activities and dedicated parking for Relay cancer survivors will be based at the nearby site of the former Desperation Church on Second Avenue across from Depot Park. Cullman County Relay organizers are already planning a month of awareness-raising events in the leadup to April 30, including ‘Wheels at Wallace,’ an April 16 car show at the Wallace State campus; and the annual Survivors’ Breakfast, which is set for 7 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27 at Cullman Church of Christ on Childhaven Road.

Getting an early start is key to staging this year’s sized-up Relay event, and sponsorships, as well as anyone who’s lost a loved one (or is a cancer survivor themselves) still has time to get involved. Whether you’d like to organize a Relay team, purchase a luminaria (which comes with an opportunity to have your photo included in the “You’re the Reason slide show that’ll run throughout the event), or simply make a donation through the local Relay chapter, the place to start is the website for Relay for Life of Cullman County.

Visit www.relayforlife.org/cullmanal to learn more about Relay for Life’s April 30 Party at the Park, as well as to sign up as a sponsor.

The Cullman Relay team will hold an organizational meeting on Thursday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the training center of the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office on Beech Avenue; anyone who’s interested in taking part — whether as a survivor, a sponsor, or volunteer — is welcome to attend and share their interest.