The annual event night for Relay for Life will be 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, at the Vicksburg High School track. Over the past few months about 22 teams have worked to raise money for the American Cancer Society and their effort will culminate in Friday’s event.

Many of the members of the leadership committee have been involved with Relay for years.

Pearl Carter, advocacy chair, is a 26-year breast cancer survivor, but that hasn’t been her only run-in with the disease.

“Since then I’ve had breast cancer again in 2014. I’ve had leukemia since 2010, and I’ve also had skin cancer. So I’m a quadruple diagnosis cancer survivor,” Carter said.

She said each time the cancer was caught early and for that she feels fortunate.

After her original diagnosis in 1990, she joined Relay in 1991 and has been committed ever since on teams and as a committee member. Seven out of the nine siblings in her family have had cancer and some have had more than one diagnosis.

“I do Relay for my family and for all my friends and acquaintances and everybody that has to face this horrible disease,” Carter said.

She said Relay is important to the Vicksburg community because the funding is used locally through different programs that support cancer patients.

“It means a lot to the community to have this type of event that supports the needs for cancer patients in our own county,” Carter said.

Jeannine Beatty became involved with Relay because of a good friend who was a team captain years ago and has since lost her battle with cancer.

“I do it for her and for other relatives, friends and neighbors that are going through that similar thing,” Beatty said. “Hopefully we’re making a difference.”

She sees Relay as a time for families to come together and spend time with each other while paying respect to those who are dealing with cancer and honor those no longer here.

Arthur Evans said he joined the cause in the 1990s when several family members were diagnosed with cancer. In 2007, Evans himself was diagnosed with stage 4 inoperable throat cancer.

“I originally got in it because my mother-in-law was a breast cancer survivor,” Evans said.

For the past few years Evans has been in charge of the logistics for Relay. He is proud to be affiliated with the organization, and he feels he is just doing his part by being a volunteer.

“It’s been a great thing for me to be involved in,” Evans said.

In addition to being great for him personally, he said it is also a unifying organization for the entire community. He appreciates how Relay has brought together church groups, businesses, private individuals and organizations from all over the area for a single reason.

“Its a great thing for the community because it brings so many different sectors of people together for a general cause. It is something that unites our community. Everybody knows or has had in their family someone that cancer has affected,” Evans said.

He hopes to see a big crowd Friday night.

Event night starts with a survivor and caregiver reception at 6 p.m. with light refreshments.

“Any survivor is welcome to attend, and I always like to add, just because you are still going through treatment, we still invite you to attend the survivors’ reception because we consider you a survivor because you’re continuing to fight that battle,” Relay for Life community manager Megan McBeth said.

The opening ceremony at 7 p.m. will have speeches from sponsors and will be followed by a survivor’s lap of celebration.

“It’s a victory lap,” McBeth said. “All the survivors are invited to take one big lap around the track and we celebrate them and cheer them on.”

Next, caregivers take a lap around the track, then sponsors will take a lap and finally the team members who contributed to fundraising for Relay will take a final lap. Performances by a dance studio and the Vicksburg High School Madrigal Choir will take place around 8 p.m. followed by a dance-off competition that is open to the public at 9:30 p.m.

Some teams will opt to make more money at the Relay event night to add to their earnings for cancer research.

“The teams will be doing on-site fundraising and this might be things such as games or activities. Teams might be selling food or concessions,” McBeth said. “This is another way they raise money for their team goal.”

There will be a Frozen T-Shirt Contest where participants have to break a T-Shirt out of a frozen block of ice, a scavenger hunt and other activities to energize the night.

At 10 p.m. there is a luminaire ceremony to remember those who have dealt with cancer.

“It’s just a very solemn quiet event where we remember all of those that have fought the good fight regardless of if they’re no longer with us, or if they’re still fighting the battle or have won the battle,” McBeth said.

The closing ceremony will follow at 11 p.m.