June 12, 2025
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Relay For Life celebrating 30 years in Kankakee County

Annual event to be held at The Grove in Bourbonnais

By Shaw Local News Network
Survivors release their balloons before the inaugural lap at the 2016 Relay For Life of Kankakee County held at Bishop McNamara High School. The annual fundraising event to benefit cancer research celebrates its 30th anniversary this Saturday.

Survivors release their balloons before the inaugural lap at the 2016 Relay For Life of Kankakee County held at Bishop McNamara High School. The annual fundraising event to benefit cancer research celebrates its 30th anniversary this Saturday. (Tiffany Blanchette)

For 30 years, Kankakee County has been taking literal steps to raise funds and awareness for cancer.

Relay For Life Kankakee County will celebrate three decades this year during the annual event that honors survivors and caregivers.

Kicking off at 2 p.m. Saturday, the event will be held at the new community campus in Bourbonnais, The Grove, 700 Main St. NW.

Beginning at 1 p.m. will be survivor registration. At 2 p.m. is the opening ceremony, followed by the Survivors Lap and then the Caregivers Lap. From 3:30 to 4 p.m., Oberweis will provide free ice cream to all survivors.

The local event is presented by Riverside Cancer Institute and nationally run by the American Cancer Society.

“Relay For Life is the world’s largest volunteer-based fundraising event,” ACS said in a statement. “For 40 years, communities across the world have come together to honor and remember loved ones and take action for lifesaving change.”

ACS began Relay For Life in 1985. The event came to Kankakee County in 1995.

For information or to register, visit relayforlife.org/kankakeeil.