FORKS — The Forks Relay for Life is lingering in the Twilight zone this year.
Relay participants hope to “Take a Bite Out of Cancer,” per this year’s vampire theme.
With several teams named after characters from the Twilight saga — four novels about teen love and vampires set in Forks — and events such as the garlic necklace lap, the relay is in swing with the most popular tourist attraction on the West End.
The event, which runs from 3 p.m. today to 3 p.m. Saturday, will be at the Forks High School track, 261 S. Spartan Ave.
Relay For Life benefits the American Cancer Society’s cancer research. In 2008, the fundraiser raised $50,000.
“I don’t have many families that were touched by cancer, but I do have many friends who were,” said Pat Soderlind, city events coordinator.
“I think that everyone has been touched by cancer. This is something we all can relate to.”
Relay participants raise money through individual sponsors donating money for each lap they complete and through team projects.
Fifteen teams
About 15 teams made up of eight to 15 members will participate this year.
The West End’s relay was started in 2003 by cancer survivor Paul Headley.
Headley and some of his co-workers at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center formed a team for the Port Angles Relay For Life in 2002.
That inspired him to start a relay in Forks.
Headley organized the West End’s relay each year until 2005. The chairwoman of the 2009 relay is Marie DeOng of Forks.
Soderlind’s team — “Just a Bunch of Us” — will include a group of people from California who also joined her last year, she said.
“Last year was the first year to register online, and when I got e-mails saying people from California that I didn’t know had joined my team, I thought it was a mistake,” Soderlind said
“But then on the day of the event, there they were.
“So this year, they’ll all come back to join us again.
“They said that they picked my group because the name sounded like a lot of fun.”
People who want to participate still may sign up on the day of the event, Soderlind said.
The Relay for Life on the West End is the final relay on the North Olympic Peninsula this year.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
