Get ready to "Paint the Town Purple" in uptown Shelby on May 4, 2016, from 3:30 - 8 p.m. Promoted as a Relay for Life "pep rally," the event has really taken off in the last few years, according to volunteer Brite Warrick.
"The main stage will be set up at the Earl Scruggs Center," says Warrick. "We will have entertainment by DJ Jackson Martin and performances by local dance studios."
Demonstrations and "water fun" for the kids will be provided by the Number Three and Grover Volunteer Fire departments.
Teams participating in the upcoming Relay for Life (to be held on May 20, 2016) will be at the "Paint the Town Purple" event with t-shirts, games, baked goods and a variety of items that will be available for a donation.
"We are really encouraging stores and restaurants in the uptown Shelby area to show support for this event by decorating their storefronts with anything purple - purple ribbons, purple bows, purple signs and purple lights," says Warrick. "In the past few years several of the businesses have done this, and it's a really great way for them to support Relay for Life." Some businesses and restaurants also offered discounts and special promotions tied to the event in past years, Warrick says.
Relay for Life is an annual community-based fund-raising event of the American Cancer Society. Each year, more than 5,000 Relay For Life events take place in more than 20 countries. The mission of Relay For Life is to raise funds to improve cancer survival, decrease the incidence of cancer, and improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their caretakers.
For more information about the local Relay for Life and the "Paint the Town Purple" events, visit the Cleveland County Relay for Life group's Facebook page or its web site at www.relayforlife.org/shelbync.

By April Hoyle Shauf

Special to Shelby Shopper