A celebration marking 20 years in the fight against cancer is set to take place at Riverside Park in Oakmont.

The annual Relay for Life of Riverview returns after a year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Festivities are scheduled from 4 to 10 p.m. on Aug. 7.

“We’re very excited that we’re able to get back together,” said Nancy Verderber, American Cancer Society Relay for Life staff partner. “We’re looking forward to seeing our volunteers and our participants and the cancer survivors.”

Organizers said it will be a bit scaled back from previous years with some folks not quite comfortable taking part in large gatherings.

The 2019 relay was a 12-hour event with 22 teams and hundreds of people participating. It raised more than $70,000.

This year, the time was cut in half and only 14 teams have signed up to hit a goal of $50,000.

“We totally understand that there are some that don’t feel comfortable coming out depending on where they are with their cancer treatment,” Verderber said. “We are being careful and (following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.) We’re going to be keeping an eye on things, asking people to social distance when they can. The tents will not be on top of each other.

“We’re still working hard on making progress in treatments and helping those who have cancer. The pandemic took a lot away, and unfortunately cancer didn’t go away. We’re glad to be back fighting again.”

Activities include food trucks, games, music, team recognition and the traditional luminaria ceremony and laps around the track. The theme is “Birthdays.”

The survivor dinner was changed to a survivor dessert reception with prepackaged goods.

Relay for Life was founded by Dr. Gordy Klatt, a practicing surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., in 1985.

He walked and ran for 24 hours around a track at the University of Puget Sound to help raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society. It has since turned into a global fundraising phenomenon.

Volunteers from Oakmont and Verona began organizing their part of Relay in 2000.

Nancy “Moochie” Donatucci, a cancer survivor, has led Riverview’s efforts for at lease seven of those years.

She said they have raised more than $48,000 toward the $50,000 goal through sponsorships and luminary sales as well as collecting various donations.

“We’re following the American Cancer Society covid restrictions,” Donatucci said. “They lay down things that we have to follow. Some people are still raising money but won’t have a tent set up. I’m excited about it. More people put off going to their doctors and getting treatments during this (pandemic) so there is a bigger need for us to raise money.”

A dek hockey tournament organized by Riverview Dek Hockey, the nonprofit home of the Riverview Raptors youth teams, took place at Riverside Park and Banksville Park on July 22-25 with 38 teams from across Western Pennsylvania and as far as Chicago involved.

The event was called Hockey for Life and raised several thousand dollars toward Relay.

People can still sign up to participate in Relay.

Call 800-227-2345 or go online to relayforlife.org/pariverview for more information.

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