Well, Billie Rae, to be in your own words, reflect on what you anticipate the luminaria ceremony to be. If you're a first time Relayer, it may be difficult to internalize the emotional impact, Perhaps, you can call on someone in the group to share their experience.

At our Event (Isle of Wight / Surry, Virginia, www.IWSRelay.org), the luminaria ceremony is marked by absolute quiet around the track. We advise people that the stadium lights are about to go out, and people seek out the luminaria bags honoring and remembering loved ones. People hold hands as the lights are dimmed, and it truly is a reverent moment. Last year, a young man read a poem he'd written to his mother while she underwent chemo. A local pastor offered a prayer, and soft guitar music and a song were played. All the while, there was a hush around the track, while people hugged and put their heads on each other's shoulders. After about 10 minutes, the stadium lights are turned on, but they come bright slowly while a solo violinist plays "Ashokun Farewell", a very haunting piece you may remember from the sound track of Ken Burns' Civil War series.

Relay night is about a lot of things, including silly and fun activities, but everyone always cherishes the quiet, reverent time when we pause to honor and remember. It always comes back to me at that time, the awful fear of watching my wife being wheeled in for a double mastectomy, the surreal feeling that came over me when I heard the words "The pathology is back...it's Hodgkin's", the wrenching sadness of seeing a 12 year old niece succumb to cancer. We honor and we remember, but we also recall vividly the fear, the anxiety, the sadness, the pain of having faced cancer.

Done with reverence and feeling, the luminaria ceremony captures the spirit of Relay and as the lights come up and we again start walking the laps into the night, we never fail to be re-energized with wanting to Fight Back.

If you have video and audio capability at your Kick-off, here's a good eight minute clip to show... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxtlY3yRgak. In case you're wondering, that's my wife.

Have a wonderful kick-off.

/Rick