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Relay For Life of Troup County will be held from 7 p.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday. All activities will be at Whitesville Road track and are open to the public. There is no admission fee, but groups will be selling food and other items to raise money for the event that supports the American Cancer Society.

Friday

6 p.m. Survivor registration; team registration and silent auction check-in

6:50 p.m. Survivor group picture

7 p.m. Opening ceremonies

With emcee Joe Franklin, Kimberly Clark; ROTC presentation of colors; national anthem by Erica Whitney; invocation by Kenneth Binion, Baptist Tabernacle; Troup High cheerleaders and Troup County Wildcats

Relay for Life grand marshal, Coach Glen Quiggle

7:15 p.m. Ribbon cutting; survivor lap; and balloon release

7:30 pm Tent judging

8 p.m. Team lap

8:30 p.m. Performances on stage begin with Terry Posey

9 p.m. Tiffany Posey and Posey Family

9:30 p.m. Steven Costley

10 p.m. Luminary ceremony

11 p.m. Elvis (Van Barnett)

Saturday

1 a.m. Zumba with Kelly

2 a.m. George Cotton

4 a.m. Karaoke

6 a.m. Final lap and closing ceremonies

Other activities through the night include trivia challenges, music, a dunking booth, food and entertainment.

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T-shirts, barbecue lunches, raffles and even pink flamingos have all been part of the fundraising efforts to support the American Cancer Society through the annual Relay for Life. On Friday, dozens of local teams who have been working to raise the $110,000 goal - some for as long as a year - will celebrate all night long.

Glen Quiggle, a teacher and coach at Lafayette Christian School and formerly at Troup High School, will be the grand marshal for the survivor’s walk. He is currently being treated for lymphoma.

“We thought he’d be a good representative of what the Relay is all about - encouraging cancer survivors,” said Dan Wooten, a member of the Relay for Life survivor’s team. “Lafayette Christian School has given so much to support him.”

Teachers and students from the school formed Team Quiggle a few weeks ago.

“We thought the kids would get on board to support him and his wife, Tina, who is a breast cancer survivor,” said Marsha Wyzykowski, lunch room director at the school. “We wanted to benefit Coach Quiggle as well as teach the kids to be involved in more than just school and church, but also in the community.”

The group sold 148 “Team Quiggle” T-shirts, held a car wash and a bake sale and raised about $2,500. A team of about 50 will be on hand Friday night at the event.

Getting involved in the Relay to honor someone with cancer is often the way teams get started. That’s what happened with Brenda Leverett who first volunteered with the annual fundraiser when John Bell, her first boss at the city of LaGrange was diagnosed with cancer.

Now she organizes the Christmas float every year and currently serves as the fundraiser chair.

“We held barbecues and made and sold sack lunches this year. We also raffled off a free vacation day for city employees,” Leverett said. So far, the City of LaGrange group - called “City Slickers” - has raised about $4,000.

For Lori Smith, this year’s returning chair of the luminary project, volunteering with Relay for Life is even more than honoring a memory, it’s also healing.

In 1994, Smith’s 6 year old nephew died from brain cancer. In 1997, she volunteered for her first Relay for Life. She’s continued to be involved every year.

“It’s healing for me. I feel like it keeps me from forgetting,” Smith said.