Chairperson Shannon Wittig  is wishing upon a star for good weather, but she said the 2012 Relay for life of Barton County is ready to roll this weekend.
The 18th-annual relay will open at 6 p.m. Friday, with the American flag presentation by the American Legion Riders as they ride into the Barton County Courthouse Square in downtown Great Bend, and wrap up at 6 a.m. Saturday with a prayer and closing ceremony.
The event has a Walt Disney-related theme and the goal fundraising goal is technically $126,000 to help in the war on cancer. However, additional funds are needed to cover expenses.
 There are 27 relay teams taking part, but Wittig said the event is not only for them. “Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
“We have many exciting new things at relay this year,” Witting said. “There will be fun for all ages so come on down and enjoy.”
In between the opening and the closing will be a night both laughter and tears.
There will be games, music food vendors and entertainment as the square turns into a bright tent city. And there will be the solemn lighting of the luminaries and reading of the roll call of cancer victims.
Registration begins at 3 p.m. and music “to set the mood” begins at 4.
In case of rain, the Relay will be moved to the Great Bend High School Panther Activity Center on 19th Street and Odell. It would involve a shortened schedule.
Witting said one can text 4850 to 22723 to get Relay for Life of Barton County information.
According to the American Cancer Society, an average of 168 Barton County residents are diagnosed with cancer each year.
A relay is an over-night event meant to symbolize a cancer patient’s journey from diagnosis to being cancer free. This marks the 27th anniversary of Relay for Life which started in 1985 in Tacoma, Wash., and grew into a world-wide effort. This grass-roots movement is the ACS’s largest fund-raising venture.
For more information, call chairperson Wittig at 620-786-9322 or by e-mail at sameiam2003@yahoo.com, or call Team Development Chairperson Kandi Wolf at 620-797-5651.