After raising over $70,000 for the American Cancer Society this year, the Guthrie County Relay for Life committee is wasting no time in planning for next year’s main event.

A first will be happening in 2020, as committee member Kim Durst says the event has been moved up from its traditional date in June or July to April 4th. The theme for 2020 is “Hope Grows Here,” and Durst says the committee decided to hold the event sooner as June tends to get overwhelmed by other events and activities. She adds that it makes no difference when the event is held, “We have fundraisers throughout the year to not only raise money for life-saving research and patient services and education, but also for cancer awareness. So we try to do things throughout the year, so no matter when Relay is, it’s when we truly celebrate our cancer survivors, but we’re truly fighting cancer all year round.”

As Relay for Life enters its 35th year for the nation as a whole, Durst says the fundraising cycle is also changing from January to December, instead of ending in August like years past. The 21st annual Guthrie County Relay event will be held in its same location of the events center on the Guthrie County Fairgrounds.