PORT TOWNSEND — The challenge: After tying a pair of panty hose to your waist, put a potato in one leg of the hose. Swinging the potato like a putter, try to sink a golf ball in a hole.
Called potato golf, this unusual sport will be one of many games that will keep this year’s Relay for Life of Jefferson County participants on their toes.
“We’re going to have a lap dedicated to a theme or game every hour, with prizes,” said Sandra Coca, event chairwoman.
Potato golf, bingo and a poker lap are just a few of the activities planned for this year’s relay, which begins at 3 p.m. Friday and continues through noon Saturday at the track at Blue Heron Middle School at 3939 San Juan Ave., Port Townsend.
The goal: to raise $70,000 for cancer research by holding an outdoor party with games and prizes.
“My personal goal is to get the community to participate,” Coca said. “If we get a lot of people out there, we’ll get the donations.”
In the past, the focus has been on participation by teams from businesses and churches, with someone from each team on the track for the entire event.
This year, each team is sponsoring a theme or game lap and inviting people to bring friends and family for a Friday evening or Saturday morning of fun and exercise.
On the more serious side, the Survivors Lap is at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by a dinner for survivors.
Luminaria — paper bags with candles set around the track — will be lit at 10 p.m. in honor or memory of friends and relatives who had cancer.
Friday games
Friday games include potato golf at 4 p.m., a scavenger hunt at 5 p.m. and a bingo lap at 7 p.m., with Judy Lundgren of the Hilltop Tavern supplying the cards.
“You donate a dollar a card, and as you walk, they call out numbers,” Coca said.
The Poker Lap, sponsored by Port Townsend Paper Co., starts at 8 p.m., with walkers receiving a card for every five laps around the track. Whoever gets the best hand gets the prize, Coca said.
It’s followed at 9 p.m. by the S’mores Lap, in which walkers are given one of the ingredients — graham cracker, chocolate bar, marshmallows — for each circle of the track.
“Then they heat it up for you,” Coca said.
For the limber, there’s a Limbo Lap at 11 p.m. Friday and a Most Outrageous Pajama Lap at midnight. A disc jockey will provide music throughout the evening, Coca said.
For people who want to make a night of it, movies will be shown from midnight to 5 a.m., when the Jefferson Healthcare team will cook breakfast.
Saturday laps
On Saturday, contest laps start with the Best Bed Head at 6 a.m., followed by the Crazy Hat Lap at 7 a.m.
“You can cover up that bed head,” Coca said.
At 8 a.m. is the Backwards Lap, in which walkers can either walk backwards or wear their clothes backwards.
At 9 a.m. is the Constipation Lap, in which teams of three or four compete in a race with a ball between their legs.
“It’s a true relay,” Coca said.
At 10 a.m. is the Mr. Relay, in which men dress as women and circle the track, waving and blowing kisses.
The relay committee moved the event from July to mid-June in the hopes that more youth would participate, Coca said.
The event is designed for families, with a Bouncy Castle set up for children.
The theme of this year’s Relay is “Back to the Future” in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first Relay for Life, which was held in Tacoma. Booths offering snacks and items for sale will be decorated as different ’80s movies, with a prize for best booth, Coca said.
People who want to participate in the games or contests are requested to stop at the gate and sign a release, Coca said. Donations are appreciated.
For more information, phone 360-379-2127 or e-mail sandrac2@ptpc.com.
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Port Townsend/Jefferson County reporter-columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@olypen.com.
