Survivors, fighters, caregivers and supporters will come together Saturday at Hardin Park to celebrate 40 Years of Impact on Cancer Research at the Audrain County Relay for Life.

The relay will begin with a soft opening at 4 p.m. with emcee Michael Daugherty followed by a performance by Dandrea Kidd at 4:05 p.m. and music by Keven Nance at 4:45 p.m.

The park will be lined with food vendors including Nini’s Kitchen, Toni’s Grab n’ Go and Beagle’s Food Truck while other vendors such as Tastefully Simple, A&R Crafty Creations and Deborah Luca will join the Audrain County Relay for Life teams in the park.

Relay for Life of Audrain County Event Lead Brenda Prater will kick off opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. starting with an opening prayer followed by a presentation of flags by the Centralia VFW and the singing of the national anthem by Vanessa Brink.

Some Relay for Life events last a full 24 hours to symbolize the around-the-clock battle with cancer. While the Relay for Life of Audrain County is no longer able to host a full-day event, organizers continue to observe other key traditions such as the survivor speaker and introductory laps.

At the Relay for Life, survivors are the first to band together and walk the designated track, which will wind through Hardin Park followed by caregivers and then registered teams.

New to Relay this year will be a bounce house, donated for the evening by Grant Tollener of Gold Crest Distributing, and a dunk tank, which the Little Dixie Fire Department will be filling for free as its contribution.

The Event Leadership Team also will be auctioning off a basketball that is signed by the Los Angeles Clippers.

After the sun goes down and the auction is over, the Relay for Life of Audrain County will observe another tradition, the Luminary Service.

Linda Reid, co-captain of relay team Friends Fighting as One, Event Leadership Team member and Survivor captain, has been working on personalized Luminary bags, dedicated to those who have had cancer, for weeks – some nights until 2 a.m.

Luminary bags, which will be placed all around Hardin Park, will be lit at 9 p.m. so relayers can remember those who lost their battle with cancer, honor those who are currently fighting cancer and recognize those who have survived their battle.

This year’s theme, 40 Years of Impact, celebrates the founding of the Relay for Life by Gordy Klatt in 1985.

And even though the Relay for Life has only been in Audrain County for 28 years, according to event lead Brenda Prater, the Event Leadership Team elected to stick with the American Cancer Society’s theme.

Keeping with the theme, the track will be lined with informational signs indicating important moments in the Relay for Life’s history.

“The important milestone of that year will be on the signs that go around the track,” Prater said.

This year’s fundraising goal was $45,000 and so far, the Audrain County Relay for life has raised just over $31,000.

Even with the Relay for Life right around the corner, fundraising never stops. Audrain County Relay for life will continue to raise money until Oct. 1 and then it is on to fundraising for next year.