Lewiston's Relay For Life gets active

by Alicia Wainwright

Lewiston's Relay For Life held its third informational meeting on Wednesday, May 23. The theme of the meeting was nutrition and fitness.

Unfortunately, the fitness/nutrition expert could not make the meeting. Tami Gabri, director of special events for the American Cancer Society, was on hand to share her knowledge on fitness and nutrition and its links to cancer.

Gabri explained that a person should have five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and an average of 150 minutes of physical activity per week.

Cancer prevention studies have shown that there is a link between physical activity and cancer prevention. "There are certainly things you can do to try to prevent cancer, being physically active is definitely one of them," said Gabri. Keeping a healthy diet with an emphasis on plant foods is also a great way to help prevent cancer.

"I encourage you to really look through our website, when you go to www.cancer.org, there's really great tools," explained Gabri.

The American Cancer Society website has a variety to offer, including quizzes to see how much you really do know about nutrition. There is a lot to read but there are also videos for those who are more visual.

There are a number of calculators available on the website as well, including a body mass index calculator, exercise calorie counter, a cigarette cost calculator, and a target heart rate calculator so when you are working out you can be more effective.

As for fitness on the day of the event, there will be a variety of activities available on the track. Two times during the day there will be a Zumba class. Silver Sneakers, a fitness program aimed at older adults to take greater control of their health, will also be available on the track. Line dancing and yoga will also be available throughout the day of the event to keep participants active.

With all this activity throughout the event, keeping hydrated and eating is important. This was addressed during the event. A good way for a team to fundraiser on the day of the event is to sell food and beverages. Teams were called upon to sell hot dogs, pizza or other lunch food throughout the day.

Chiavetta's dinners will be sold from 4 to 7 p.m. on the day of the event. Presale tickets are $8.50; the cost the day of the event is $9. Tickets can be purchased at Lewiston-Porter High School.

This year's Lewiston Relay For Life is June 16 at the Lew-Port High School Track.

Registration and camp setup begins at 10:30 a.m. Opening ceremonies start at noon. Immediately following is the Survivor's Lap and luncheon. Children's activities will be held from 1 to 5 p.m.

The basket auction tent will be open from 1 to 6 p.m. This year will be different than other years because the winners of the auction will be picked from 6 to 7 p.m. and then the winners will be posted at 7 p.m.

The caregiver ceremony starts at 3 p.m. Fight Back ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Luminaria Ceremony begins at 9:30 p.m. Finally, the closing ceremony will start at 11:45 p.m.