Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised in the Central Valley over the years through the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, Relay For Life.
The 24-hour team event in the fight against cancer will return to Johansen High School on Norseman Drive in Modesto in mid-May, running from the opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 16 through the closing ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 17.
In between, a lot is packed in to the 24-hour period and many participants attempt to stay awake and active throughout the event, going along with the statement that “cancer never sleeps.”
This will be the third year at Johansen High School for the regional event, with teams setting up their campsites and booths on the football field and walkers taking to the track surrounding the grassy area.
Theme for the 2026 Relay is “Fishing For A Cure” and Kaiser Permanente has signed on as the presenting sponsor.
Prior to a one-year hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, many communities in the area put on individual events.
But reductions in staffing levels at the American Cancer Society coming out of COVID prompted the regionalization of the signature Relay For Life program. Re-branded as the Relay For Life of Greater Stanislaus County, three host cities of Modesto, Oakdale and Turlock – which previously had individual relays – were joined together for one large event. Riverbank and Escalon were included in the Oakdale Relay For Life at that time and so continued on to the ‘Greater Stanislaus County’ regional event.
In 2021, 2022 and 2023 – with those events in the fall – Relay For Life was staged at John Thurman Field in Modesto. Relay moved back to a late spring date for 2024 and relocated to Johansen, which had been the home of the Modesto Relay For Life for several years previously. It was there for the regional event in 2025 and will be back at Johansen High School again for 2026.
“It was a slow start after COVID but we are gradually growing in size and people are now coming back,” explained longtime Event Chair Irene Cortez.
More teams from the outlying areas have since been consolidated into the one main event, with the Modesto location now hosting Relay For Life of Greater Central Valley. It includes teams primarily from Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, with communities such as Tracy, Ripon, Escalon, Oakdale, Modesto, Riverbank, Ceres and more represented.
Some three dozen teams – accounting for nearly 200 participants – are already signed up and actively fundraising, with over $44,000 raised so far of the $175,000 goal for 2026.
One of the points that Cortez and fellow event leadership team members stress is that the Relay For Life is a family-friendly gathering. Even those that are not on a team are encouraged to come out to Johansen at some point during the day or evening on Saturday, May 16 to support the teams and enjoy live music, food, games, an extensive kids area with free activities, along with plenty of teams offering a variety of items available in opportunity drawings. Attendees can also purchase luminaria bags in memory of someone lost to cancer or in honor of someone still fighting the fight. The decorated, lighted bags are placed along the track for the overnight hours, helping to lead the way for those walking the track at night.
Relay For Life is a 24-hour event; with the goal of having at least one member from each team on the track at all times. It is not a race and most participants walk during their time on the track.
Throughout the day there are also fun competitions for Relay participants as well as several theme laps, ranging from crazy hats to tutus to a superhero theme, to add to the festive atmosphere. A classic car show has been set up at Johansen during the event the past two years and plans are to offer that again, as another way to draw in visitors on Saturday.
Some local community service organizations have stepped up over the past few years to assist with cooking and serving breakfast on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday evening.
Opening ceremonies on May 16 will feature guest speakers and some special presentations along with the Survivor Lap, the first lap taken by cancer survivors in their purple shirts, as team members line the track to cheer them on.
As the honored guests at Relay, a special area is set up specifically for survivors and there are several activities provided for them throughout the event, as well as many teams offering small gifts for survivors. Caregivers are also honored during the event for the pivotal role they play in the fight against cancer.
Saturday evening brings the luminaria ceremony, including a video tribute, while the Sunday morning closing ceremony typically features the announcement of various fundraising totals, in addition to team and individual honors, before the closing lap.
There is still time to get involved, either by starting a team, signing up as a solo participant, or joining in with an existing team for the mid-May event.
More information is available by going to the Relay For Life of Greater Central Valley website at: www.relayforlife.org/stanislausca
“I can say that I don’t do this alone,” Cortez added of the months of work that go in to bringing the event together. “I have a great event leadership team that helps make this an awesome Relay.”
