DAPHNE, Ala. — Daphne High School’s stadium was packed last Friday night for 12 hours straight, but warriors on the field were teaming up not for an athletic competition, but for a fight against cancer.

Teams and individuals from across the Eastern Shore have worked all year to raise funds for the Relay for Life in support of the fight to cure cancer. At press time, the total funds raised at Daphne’s event had reached $81,750, but organizers said the total is expected to increase once all money is turned in.

The theme for this year’s relay was “Wish Upon a Cure.” The 43 teams involved in this year’s Relay for Life set up tents and many dressed up to go with the themes selected by each team.

Themes selected by teams this year included, “Swinging for a Cure,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Spot a Cure for Cancer” and “World of Enchantment.”

The event included entertainment from local performers and many teams offered games, raffles and food at their tents to raise more funds to reach the Relay for Life goal of $109,086.

The top fundraising teams going into the Relay were “Walmart’s World of Enchantment” with $8,005 raised; “Life is Grand: Spot a Cure for Cancer,” $4,309 raised; and “Toy Story — To Infinity and Beyond,” the City of Daphne with $4,165.

The top participants going into the Relay were Mandie Kinsey, who raised $1,600 and Benjamin Hoeb who raised $1,067.

The teams’ yearlong efforts culminated in Friday night’s celebration, which represented a cancer patient’s battle with cancer.

“The setting of the sun at this time reflects when a person is told that he or she has cancer. Things begin to go dark and grim. Hope goes on and relayers typically struggle to keep walking around the track during the early hours of the morning. This signifies a cancer patient going through chemo and becoming weak. As relayers fight to stay awake and walk, a cancer patient is fighting to live and keep up hope. When Relay ends at 6 a.m., the sun begins to come up over the horizon. This signifies a new day and a new beginning to a cancer patient,” a press release for the event stated.

Event organizer Caroline Kinney said the event gives others a glimpse into a cancer patient’s life.

“It goes for 12 hours overnight because cancer never sleeps. It is supposed to give everyone that comes out the experience of a cancer patient’s journey,” Kinney said.

(Staff video by Shea Zirlott; edited by Thomas Boni)

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