Celebrate. Remember. Fight back.

Lion Stadium will come alive on Friday night as hundreds of members of the community gather to join the fight against cancer in one of the area’s biggest and longest-standing local fundraising events.

The tenth annual Relay for Life Lockhart will set up on Friday afternoon in preparation for the all-night walking relay, which starts at 7 p.m. with a special “Survivors’

Lap” celebrating the men, women and children in Lockhart and the surrounding areas who have beaten, or are still fighting cancer.

Early this week, Relay organizers put out a call for additional survivors to register for the event, if only to walk in the Survivors’ Lap. Cancer survivors, after all, are the reason why Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society’s flagship fundraising event, exists.

If Relay for Life Lockhart recruits 144 survivors to participate, the event will receive a “Five-Star” recognition from the American Cancer Society.

Survivors may register online prior to the event by visiting the Relay for Life Lockhart website at www.relayforlife.org/lockharttx, and may also register in the Survivors’ Tent at Lion Stadium, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

After darkness falls, participants will “Remember,” with the lighting of hundreds of luminaria, lighted bags that will shine throughout the night in honor  of cancer patients and those who lost the battle too soon.

Anyone in the community who has been touched by cancer is invited to sponsor a luminaria, and may contact Luminaria Co-chairs Marissa Mendez or Kalyn Chamness at (512) 376-1329 for information.

Throughout the night, while team members fight back, walking the track in a constant relay to increase awareness and funds for cancer research, the Relay for Life Lockhart committee has arranged for games, live music, and additional fundraising raffles and silent auctions. The entire evening is based on gathering and strengthening community support in the fight against one of the most widespread and far-reaching diseases known to man.

Special events commemorating the tenth anniversary include local and regional celebrities, and a guest appearance by the popular local band Soundwave.

For more information or to get involved with Relay for Life Lockhart, visit www.relayforlife.org/lockharttx, find “Relay for Life Lockhart” on Facebook, or visit Lion Stadium between 7 p.m. on Friday, April 29, and 7 a.m. on Saturday, April 30.