Countdown To Relay For Life: Five Days and Counting

Kate Barton was a member of the executive committee for the first Relay for Life in Berlin three years ago.

Now her duties are less but she takes as much pride in raising money for the American Cancer Society as she ever has.

"When Relay started Annie Salgado asked me to be on the planning committee and it was new so I jumped in with both feet as a tri-chair," said Barton. "Now I'm not on the committee anymore but I still love the event and I love what it stands for."

Barton is team captain for a team named Books and Broads for this year's Relay for Life, May 21-22 at the Berlin Fairgrounds. The team is so big there is also a Books and Broad Two. All totaled the team has 56 members and raises a lot of money for the American Cancer Society.

"Annie asked me and she had lymphoma," Barton said. "And the big reason for me is that my dad had colon and kidney cancer."

Frank Peifer now lives in Berlin but lived a good portion of his life in New Britain. He has gone through bouts with colon, kidney and skin cancer and is the model of toughness for his daughter.

"We also have Lisa Turgeon on our team and her mom passed away from cancer but the reason I do it is for my dad."

Barton, like many, says she is looking forward to her favorite parts of the 24-hour Relay.

"The luminaria ceremony is my favorite," she said. "The whole 24 hours is great. The whole community comes out and the feel of having your whole community stand together is priceless."

Her team will again sell things at her campsite to raise more money for the ACS.

"We will let people decorate their own cupcake," Barton said. "We will also spray kids hair different colors and we will have some kind of glow sticks for sale too. We are really excited and can't wait to spend out time together."

The Berlin Relay for Life is only three years old but has become one of the most successful Relays in the state and region.

This year, with a week to go, More than $53,000 has been raised, there are 45 teams signed up and 699 people have registered.

At the luminaria ceremony, scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday night, there will be between 1,000 and 2,000 people on the Berlin Fairgrounds.

The Berlin Patch will have photos, video and blog entries all weekend from the Berlin Relay for Life. Don't miss a second.