FARMINGTON — The Franklin County Relay For Life will hold its official 2015 Kickoff at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, in the Bass Room at Franklin Memorial Hospital.

The theme this year is TV Land.

“We encourage anyone who thinks they might be interested in participating, as well as those who have participated before, to come to the kickoff. You’ll find out what the Relay is all about and learn about major changes from last year to this year,” Anna Lyon, publicity chairwoman, said. “The biggest change this year is becoming a day event rather than an overnight event.”

It begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at the Farmington Fairgrounds and ends at 11:45 p.m.

“While there have been some fans of the overnight event, most people tell us they preferred a day-to-evening event,” Lyon said.

The overnight aspect used to be a requirement of the American Cancer Society but it decided to allow local Relays the opportunity to end their events at the end of the day. All the ceremonies will still take place: the opening ceremony, the Survivor and Caregiver laps and reception, Luminaria and closing.

“We think this will allow more people to be involved with Relay, participate in the activities that are going on, and not feel obligated to stay overnight,” said Mac Watts, a specialist at the American Cancer Society who helps coordinate the Franklin County Relay. “Because we are starting a little earlier in the day, there will be more daylight hours and more chances for teams to hold activities, as well as for people to walk around and enjoy those activities.

“So many people have heard about the Relay but don’t know what it’s all about. Perhaps they have been touched by cancer in their family and want to help fight it. Well, this is the perfect time to get your questions answered,” Watts said. “The kickoff is all about answering questions!”

The kickoff provides an opportunity to rally teams returning from previous events and introduce new teams.

“Anyone planning to have a team and anyone who thinks they are interested in participating but want more information should attend this event,” Watts said. “There will be refreshments and door prizes and ample opportunity to find out what it is all about.”

Having a theme helps make the event fun. Teams generally incorporate the theme into their campsites and activities.

“TV Land should provide a lot of rich material for our teams. We are really looking forward to see what they come up with,” Lyon said. “We all know from personal experience that there isn’t anything fun about cancer, but we are all about turning a negative into a positive.

“At the Relay, we ‘celebrate, remember and fight back.’ We celebrate our survivors, we remember our loved ones who did not survive and we fight back for more and better treatments,” she said.

Organizers hope to raise about $43,000 at this year’s event and have 30 teams participate.

Some teams have already started forming and have registered online. Teams don’t have to go to the kickoff to register, but many people find it helpful. To register online, go to www.relayforlife.org/franklinme.

The local event also has a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/relayfranklin. “Like” the page for updates on events and activities related to the Relay.

Another change this year is removal of the $10 registration fee. Teams would normally take that from the money they raised.

For more information, contact Mac Watts at the ACS office in Topsham at 373-3708 or send an email to [email protected].