Hundreds of people representing various schools, local organizations and teams were on the soccer fields of Cal State Bakersfield, showing support for Relay for Life on May 3.
The 24-hour event started Saturday morning with the survivors lap and continued into the night and Sunday morning with people constantly walking around the field.
Booths and tents representing different organizations and teams were set up on the entire field.
Everything from Target to the Kern County Fire Department and even Starbucks were there. Many booths were selling raffle tickets, food and other items and still earning money for the American Cancer Society. There was even a La Rosa man making the rounds of the field. Luminarias were prominently displayed around the field.
Each Luminaria cost $15, and Sam Gonzalez, the Luminaria Chair, estimated that they sold 14,000 to 15,000. Luminarias can be done in memory of someone who has died from cancer or in honor of someone who has survived it. “We have a lot of community support,” said Debby Anderson, a volunteer. Anderson also said that Bakersfield’s Relay for Life is the biggest in the state and the 2nd biggest in the country. According to Gonzalez, people from other cities were shadowing the Bakersfield event because they want to do the same thing in their cities.
Desiree Adams, whose mother died of cancer 28 years ago, was there representing The Chocolate Martinis for the second year in a row.
The team was founded by Adams and Sue Cowan a few years after Cowan lost her mother to cancer. “We just decided we wanted to do Relay for Life. and we just got a team together,” said Adams.
Many local schools had representation at the event including Bakersfield College. According to Joe Saldivar, professor of biology at BC, the BC Pre-med Club raised more than $2,000.
It’s clear from the hundreds of Luminarias present that many people are effected by cancer, but it’s also clear from the number of people that showed up for the event that many people are willing to help find a cure.