Spring date set for Relay for Life 2018

The date for next year’s Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Relay for Life has been set.

The ever-popular fundraiser will take place on the evening of Saturday 26th May – back at the Clickimin running track in Lerwick. The event – a 12-hour marathon relay walk –is the pivotal fundraising campaign for the charity including the walk itself and other events such as the ‘Candle of Hope’ ceremony, together with live music and food and drink stalls.

A gala afternoon will kick-start the whole event from lunchtime on the day. Organisers expect to release more details about that soon.

Although the Relay for Life walk constitutes the main event of the fundraising campaign it is one part of a much wider fundraising initiative under the CRUK Relay for Life banner. May events take place throughout the isles during the run-up to the big day.

To launch this year’s campaign, the local organising committee plan to hold a launch-concert in Lerwick’s Garrison Theatre on Thursday 23rd November. It will feature music and comedy including singer-songwriters Steven Robertson and Elsbeth Clark, and stand-up comic Marjolein Robertson, together with music from young music group Fjanna, the North Ness Boys and Kansa.

Chairman of the Shetland Branch of the CRUK Relay for Life committee, Martin Henderson, said: “This concert should be a great, fun-filled and lively way to launch the upcoming campaign. We hope this will encourage team-leaders to start forming and entering their teams for the relay as soon as possible, with a view to commencing wider fund-raising activities too.

“All being well we hope to maintain the incredible levels of contribution from Shetland we’ve experienced during earlier relay events and, who knows, perhaps even improve on that if that’s possible.”