The 2014 Relay for Life of SL season gets underway on the weekend of March 8th / 9th with the kick-off celebration. This is the tenth year RFL of SL has been held, and all involved are working hard to ensure it is a special anniversary.

In a press release about the celebration, Nikki Mathieson, this year’s Event Chair, said:

A favourite time of year, for many Second Life residents, is about to begin. The experience of working together for a cause that touches each of us so deeply is like no other experience, online or off. The support and camaraderie, the depth of passion to do more, reach further and spread awareness, while fundraising make this yearly campaign so special and amazing. We strike REAL blows to cancer. Relay For Life of Second Life is an incredible group of people who work hard KNOWING that they are saving REAL lives against an all-too-REAL disease. We need more volunteers to come join us and spread the word.. COME RELAY WITH US.

The kick-off regions will be opening to RFL of SL teams at 17:00 SLT on Friday March 7th, and the celebration proper get underway at noon SLT on Saturday March 8th.

In keeping with this year’s overall theme for RFL of SL, A Journey of Promise, the celebratory weekend will focus on A Journey Through the Continents. Relay teams have been invited to set-up kiosks on the path round the world within the kick-off regions, where they’ll be able to run a raffle or silent auction (or both) and / or a kissing booth, and have up to six vendors so that they can start-up their in-season fundraising efforts.

Activities through the weekend will include (all times SLT):

17:00 Friday March 7th: regions open for Relay Teams to set-up in their assigned spaces along the path around the world, followed by a tailgate party

10:00 Saturday March 8th: T1 Radio commence their celebration broadcasting from the regions

12:00 noon, Saturday March 8th: Opening Ceremony featuring RFL Planning and other committee members, and cancer survivor Nickib27 will share her experiences and the role the American Cancer Society played in her fight. The ceremony will be streamed live by T1 radio for those unable to attend

Saturday March 8th afternoon / night: a range of entertainments featuring DJs and liver entertainers

Sunday March 9th will feature a dance troupe, more music and entertainment, and at 13:00, a game of Family Feud which will allow three Relay teams to compete with one another and the Planning Committee!

22:00 Sunday March 9th: the kick-off celebration closes.

There is still time of those Relay Teams not registered for the celebration to do so. Teams just need to register via Google Docs, and do so by 23:59 SLT on Tuesday March 4, 2014.

Commenting on the celebrations, Stingray Raymaker, American Cancer Society staff partner, said: “I’m really excited about this year’s Kick-off because it’s the biggest Kick-off event that we’ve ever planned. The ceremony will be fantastic, but I’m really excited to see what our teams are selling in their Relay vendors!”

Other Relay for Life events scheduled for 2014 in SL include:

May 4-10: Halfway There Journey Week

July 19-20: Relay Weekend

August: Wrap-up Party

About RFL of SL

Relay For Life is the signature fundraising event of the American Cancer Society, and has grown into a world-wide event in the fight against cancer in all its forms.

Relay For Life of Second Life is an annual activity that takes place in Second Life in July each year. Volunteers form or join teams to have fun while fundraising and raising awareness from March through mid-July. In July, teams build campsites and walk a track, just like in a real world Relay. Over the last nine years, Relay For Life of Second Life has raised more than $2 million for cancer research and is the largest charity event in the virtual worlds. Several thousand volunteers from more than 80 countries participate each year, truly making it a global event.

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