Anita Godfrey joins the Relay for Life candlelight tribute at Bray Raceyway.
AS DUSK closed in and the darkness settled, a touching candlelight tribute was made to cancer survivors and those who had passed.
The ceremony offered moment of solitude for teams of walkers, pounding a track at Bray Raceway in the Cancer Council’s Relay for Life.
About 700 participants in more than 25 teams pulled on their runners for this year’s Ballarat event at the weekend.
They powered from 4pm Saturday to 10am Sunday when doves were released into the sky in a special closing ceremony.
Fluro pink-legged cousins Clayton Jones, Jesse Lloyd and friend Zak McAninly were kit-out in tights, pink zinc smeared across their noses, to make their mark.
Their team, The Nuts, was a tribute to their grandfather.
“It’s for our pop who died, but he used to sing this song about peanuts all the time,” Clayton said.
The relay launched with a survivors and carers’ lap before all participants joined the circuit.
Education, sport and research and development awareness sessions were held through the evening.
A Relay’s Got Talent session kept the mood light.
Ballarat singer Chelsea Donoghue kicked off the entertainment early on stage with acts including Auto Pilot and Craft Affliction.
The region’s army cadets who helped organisers in putting up tents, signs, bins, candle holders and generally trouble-shooting.
Ballarat Relay for Life chairmanager Anita Godfrey said it was a big event but very special.
Ms Godfrey said the event, in its 11th year, had raised more than $800,000 in total in Ballarat for the Cancer Council support and research.
