The day began with young soccer players racing around the high school track dressed as Minions and ended with a somber remembrance of those who have lost their battle with cancer.
In between, dozens of members of the Vineyard community circled around and around the high school track, in groups or alone, for the annual Relay for Life of Martha’s Vineyard. Each step was in the name of cancer research and in honor of those who have had cancer.
At about 10:30 a.m. Annabelle Brothers, age 11, sang the National Anthem and the Oak Bluffs color guard led the way for the ceremonial first lap of the day. After that the track was busy with an ebb and flow of walkers.
This year’s theme was Disney: When You Wish Upon a Cure, and groups dressed their tents accordingly. Team Gazaille Pride embraced the stars and Mickey Mouse theme, while the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital team went with a Toy Story motif: To Infinity and Beyond with a Cure. Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank (as team Martha’s Vineyard Savings Lives) went with a swash-buckling pirate theme.
The MV United U-10 boys’ team chose to do Relay for Life as a form of community service, and the team was out in force with their purple soccer jerseys and Minions hats. Team coach Brian Cioffi, the Chilmark police chief, walked lap after lap himself, joined for several hours by Aquinnah Chief Randhi Belain.
Some walkers kept track of distance by placing a bead for each lap on a string. Judging by the length of several strings of beads, it seemed possible to log as many miles at the Relay as at the annual cross-Island hike, the 21-mile trek across the Vineyard that also took place Saturday.
The mood was celebratory for most of the day, with music blaring from speakers, games, and a woman dressed as Cinderella leading others in a dance. But the reason for Relay was never far. All in all, 16 teams raised more than $35,000 for cancer research.
In the late afternoon, cancer survivor Robyn Nash spoke to the group about her 10-year battle with cancer.
“The best thing you can do in this world is love yourself and love somebody else and do a random act of kindness each day,” Ms. Nash said. As the song I Will Survive played, Ms. Nash and other cancer survivors circled the track for the survivors lap. Children raced from spot to spot around the track to offer cheers and high-fives.
After a baton-judging contest (winner: Gazaille Pride) and a scavenger hunt, the crowd started to dwindle. But slowly the track became lined with luminarias — paper bags decorated in honor of survivors and those who have died from cancer.
As darkness fell and a misty fog settled in Saturday evening, candles were lit inside the bags and event captain Nicole Gazaille gathered the remaining participants together for the remembrance lap.
“I take this very seriously,” she said. “This is the time for us to think about those people we have lost over the years.”
The strains of Amazing Grace, played by bagpiper Tony Peak, led the way around the luminaria-lined track. As the bagpipes faded away, the names of those lost to cancer were read. After that, the track was quiet except for the sound of footsteps.
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