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More than a thousand little lights flickered to life at 8 p.m. Friday. One-quarter of a mile of luminaries stretched around the Lakeview Middle School track and the word "hope" was emblazoned in the bleachers.
Organizers say the Relay For Life was an astonishing success.
"It was unbelievable," said Carol Huffer, a participant and committee member. "At about 2:30 in the morning on Saturday morning you looked out there and you saw people still walking around the track. ... It was like, 'Wow.'"
According to Melissa Atwood, chairwoman for the event, more than 400 individuals registered to walk the track during the 24-hour cancer fund-raiser.
While the figures will take a few days to compile, Atwood said, the event raised more funds than the $16,000 goal, with more than $6,000 of that being raised by the luminaries, which cotst $5 each to purchase.
"You just don't realize how many people are really out there fighting for this," said Huffer. "When you live in a small community like this and see everyone come together, it's really rewarding."
Huffer described the event from a survivor standpoint as a "very emotional weekend."
While the turn-out was more than expected, Huffer said, she would have liked to have seen a larger number of survivors participating Friday evening. She said she didn't think that word got out to enough people and that they probably didn't realize the size of the event.
"Overall it was just a really, really great event," she said.
The 30 to 40 survivors who did attend the event took a "victory lap" to commemorate their success in the battle against cancer.
The remainder of the evening was up to the 23 teams that participated in the walk, the largest being 60 people.
Some of the teams camped out overnight and were entertained by five different bands and line-dancing lessons. For the kids there were clowns and face painting.
This year's event was the first of its kind in Kosciusko County and Huffer and Atwood both anticipate a successful event next year. Huffer expects nearly twice as many survivors and teams to participate.
Atwood plans on changing very little about the event, with the exception of adding some additional entertainment for the late night and early morning hours.
