This was the scene at Red Rock Park on June 13 as day turned into night. Every summer, the city hosts the Relay for Life to raise money and awareness to fight cancer. It's called a relay because teams of people walk around the circumference of Red Rock Park continuously from early evening to 6 in the morning. When someone gets tired, a team member takes their place. Read more about it here.
 

All night, teams camped out in Red Rock Park in tents or under the open sky, barbecuing, sleeping, eating, face painting and listening to music. I went for a few hours with Karin (my wife) to bring a donation to a friend of hers who was participating. We listened to a band play 70's music, marched around Red Rock Park with friends and took lots of pictures.

As a cancer survivor, I was excited to see the many tents and canopies dotting the park under which people celebrated. Many city departments such as the Police and Lynn Housing were present.

The many lights lining the pathway you see in the picture above are called "Illuminaria" and consist of small white paper bags filled sand and a lighted candle. People buy them for $5 each and decorate them with pictures, words and drawings in memory of loved ones who died of cancer. I bought one for my Aunt Linda who passed away over a year ago.