Relay For Life Reminders, Fundraisers & Updates

Newtown is preparing for its 9th Annual Relay For Life, which will return to Newtown Youth Academy (NYA) at Fairfield Hills Friday, June 1.

Relay organizers and teams are ramping up activities and efforts to make this year’s cancer awareness and fundraising event a super time for all involved. With that in mind, this year’s relay will have a superhero theme, with everything from superhero theme music and costumes to tent sites and activities involving numerous comic book, movie, and television do-gooders, and maybe even a few colorful villains.

NYA will be closing to the public at 3 that afternoon. Registration and team arrivals are scheduled to begin at 5 pm, and the opening ceremony will be at 7.

Organizers are also hoping to involve the general public in several ways. Volunteers are still being sought to help with either setting up on the Fairfield Hills grounds on the afternoon of June 1, or during the course of the relay.

According to coordinator Laura Peters Warren, help is needed for decorating, setting up, traffic, registration, and selling food. Anyone available to help should send an e-mail to relayforlifeofnewtown@gmail.com indicating what time they are available and any preference of assignment.

The 9th Annual Relay For Life Survivors & Caregivers Reception will be held during Relay For Life this year, a change from years past when the event was hosted on the eve of Relay. The 2012 reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 at Newtown Youth Academy.

All survivors and caregivers are invited to enjoy appetizers and a reception in their honor. Dress is casual.

Reservations are requested by May 18 and can be done by calling 203-563-1524. Additional information is also available from Lori Buchetto at 203-270-6965.

Meanwhile, the following efforts are all being done to raise funds for Relay For Life/American Cancer Society. All proceeds from any of these group’s efforts are going to RFL/ACS.

*The Glo Glo Girls will be running a tag sale at 7 Main Street (the blue Victorian) on Saturday, May 19, from 8:30 am to 2 pm. Baked goods will also be available.

*Newtown Deli & Catering and its recently opened sister location, Sandy Hook Deli & Catering, have begun a raffle.

Tickets are two for $1, with one winner to receive a $50 gift certificate good at either location. Newtown Deli is at 79 South Main Street, and Sandy Hook Deli is at 102 Church Hill Road.

The raffle will continue until May 26. The businesses will also be running the food tent at Relay For Life, which last year served nearly 400 people and raised close to $2,500, again for American Cancer Society.

*The NUMC Angels will host their annual tag sale on Saturday, May 26, at Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road, from 9 am until 3 pm.

*On Saturday, May 26, Extreme Martial Arts will host a viewing party for UFC 146: Dos Santos vs Mir. The mixed martial arts/Ultimate Fighting Championship event will be taking place at The MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, and local UFC enthusiasts who can’t get out to Vegas for the event can join fellow enthusiasts for the viewing party at 266 South Main Street (within Plaza South).

Doors open at 8:30 and there is a requested donation of $1 per person. Baked goods will also be available for purchase. For additional information call 203-304-2018 or visit www.ExtremeMartialArts.com.*Ferris Acres Creamery continues to offer purple sprinkles (Relay’s official color) in exchange for a 25 cent donation. The Creamery has raised hundreds of dollars each year through this popular fundraiser.

*Also, In The Pink continues to run its You’ve Been Flocked fundraiser. Captain Lori Buchetto and her teammates will take donations of $25 and turn that into a visit by a flock of 18 pink plastic flamingos, which can be sent to anyone in Newtown.

Flamingo Flocking will continue until June 1. Call 203-300-9594 for reservations.

*Brainstorm is offering a chance to win four Boston Red Sox tickets, premium seating, including parking and the possibility of field tours, depending on date/availability. These tickets offer unobstructed view from the third row, directly over third base, and “an excellent view of game [and skyline],” team members posted on Relay’s Facebook page.

The winner will be allowed to choose from several game dates. Cost is $25 per chance and only 100 chances being offered. Contact jenjayles@gmail.com for details or to purchase a chance.

*Conversely, Las Mamacitas are offering a pair of tickets to Yankee Stadium on July 15, when the Yankees will be hosting the LA Angels. Those tickets are $5 each, with the drawing to be done at Relay. Contact team captain Laura Warren by sending an e-mail to the general Newtown Relay e-mail address (relayforlifeofnewtown@gmail.com) with Las Mamacitas/Yankees Tickets Raffle in the subject line.

For details on other groups that are doing partial fundraisers (fundraisers or events that are donating partial proceeds to ACS) in upcoming weeks, visit Newtown’s 2012 Relay For Life page at RelayForLife.org/newtownct.

Michelle Babyak, a breast cancer survivor, is serving as Newtown’s 2012 Relay chair. Cheryl Ablonowski is Mrs Babyak’s co-chair this year, and plans to take over the chair position for 2013.

Sue Rocca, a 13-year survivor of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and most aggressive malignant type of brain tumor, has stepped into the role of honorary chair.

For the first time this year, Newtown also has a Newtown Relay for Life Honorary Caregiver. Lorraine Santore lost her husband Bob, and her children Geoff and Ashley lost their father, to leukemia at age 42.