Relay For Life shortened, but not extinguished

Kara’s mother Kerri, left, and brother T.J. Gumiela helped honor the memory of their mother and grandmother.

Courtesy Kara Gumiela

Team Marie, created in memory of Marie Pichichero who lost her battle with cancer this year, raised more than $2,600 for the American Cancer Society, as her family dedicated a luminaria bag for her.

Courtesy Kara Gumiela

The annual event’s 140 participants, including 26 teams, helped raise $16,278, as the amount was revealed at the end of the night.

Courtesy Julia Biggiani

• 
• 
• 

Though shortened by rainy weather, Long Beach’s Relay for Life — benefitting the American Cancer Society — drew dozens of residents on May 21 who celebrated family and friends who have survived the disease, supported those who are battling, and remembered loved ones lost.

The annual event’s 140 participants, including 26 teams, helped raise $16,278, as each number in the amount was spray-painted on posters and revealed at the end of the night. Kara Gumiela, 28, whose grandmother, Marie Pichichero, died of uterine cancer in March, participated in the event for the first time.

Gumiela described her grandmother as a “beautiful soul” who was selfless and strong, able to navigate through life as a widow after her husband died of lung cancer a year before Gumiela was born. Braving the weather, she met people who had similarly been affected by cancer, and by honoring her grandmother, the Long Beach Middle School track morphed into a temporary healing ground for Gumiela and her family.

“It really helped me cope with the loss of my grandmother,” said Gumiela, who helped raise $2,650 for Team Marie. “It was just a nice gathering of caretakers and survivors and just people that were touched, and it really makes you feel good.”

Following a free dinner — donated by Swingbellys — for the cancer survivors in attendance, Gumiela’s uncle, Dr. Glen Pichichero, a survivor, and State Sen. Todd Kaminsky made speeches during the opening ceremony. Pichichero and other survivors then began the Survivor Lap, which was followed by the event’s signature luminaria ceremony, in which participants dedicated a paper lantern to loved ones lost, as well as those currently battling cancer. The lights were turned off during the ceremony, and the word “hope” illuminated the field’s bleachers.

“It really shows you how many people do care when it comes to a cause like that and how it affects so many people in different ways, which I didn’t know before,” Gumiela said, adding that she will be participating in future years and looks forward to larger turnouts.

The event, which normally lasts until dawn, was shortened ahead of time due to unfavorable forecasts, said Julia Biggiani, a community manager for Relay For Life who organized the special evening. Even as the rain began to come down harder at 10 p.m., there was still time for participants to compete in bubble soccer and relay races before the closing ceremony proceeded shortly afterward.

“Overall the event was fun and supported by the people who came and stuck it out through the rain,” Biggiani told the Herald in an email. “I couldn’t be more thankful for all that the community has done for the event. The spirit of Long Beach shined throughout the day!”