Luminaria are tea lights placed around the inside of the track in special Relay For
Life bags. The names of our cancer survivors, as well as those that we have
lost to cancer, are written on each bag.
Simply fill out a
luminaria order form
and turn it in, with payment, to any Relay participant. If you're not on a team or
don't know anyone participating in our Relay, you can still purchase luminaria. Just
mail the completed forms and payment to the American Cancer Society, Relay For Life of
South Portland, 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 300, Topsham, ME 04086.
That feature is not supported with the online giving site this year, but we hope it will
be available in the future.
Luminaria order forms are available on this website in PDF format. Either
click on this link,
or select "Luminaria Order Form" from the "Luminaria" menu item to the
left. Please print or make as many copies as necessary. These forms will also
be available at every team captain meeting, as well as at Relay.
There is a $10 minimum donation for each luminaria purchased.
Absolutely! Simply fill out the forms for as many luminaria as you would like
to purchase and mail them with payment to the American Cancer Society, Relay For Life
of South Portland, 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 300, Topsham, ME 04086. We will
make sure your luminaria are created and placed on the track, and the people listed on
the forms are recognized during the luminaria ceremony.
Please turn in all completed luminaria forms and related donations to your team captain
as soon as possible so they can bring them to the next team captain meeting. If you're
not on a team or don't know anyone participating in our Relay, please mail the forms,
with payment, to the American Cancer Society, Relay For Life of South Portland, 1
Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 300, Topsham, ME 04086 as soon as possible. We make every
effort to enter every name into our system so that they will all be a part of the luminaria
ceremony. However, due to the sheer volume of luminaria turned in each year, we can't
guarantee that luminaria turned in late will be recognized at Relay.
Luminaria bags will be a part of each team captain packet. They will also be available
at every team captain meeting, as well as at Relay.
Absolutely! We've seen some beautifully decorated bags throughout the years, and we
strongly encourage you to be as creative as possible! Some people slide images inside,
trace them on the outside, and color them. Some people attach pictures to the bags. Some
people draw pictures of their own. Or, if you're not artistic (and there are many of us
out there who have a hard time even drawing a stick figure!), simply write the name of
the person you would like to recognize and consider your bag decorated! It's up to each
person if or how they would like their bag to look.
Absolutely not! Take it from someone who doesn't have an ounce of creativity or the
ability to draw stick figures...just writing the name of the person you would like to
recognize on the front of the bag is decoration enough! It's up to each person to decide
whether they want to decorate their bags or not.
Please bring them to the luminaria tent at Relay as soon as possible, or if you will be
arriving to Relay late, please give them to someone who will be arriving earlier. The
volunteers in the luminaria tent will then make sure sand and tea lights go in the bag,
and that it is placed on the inside of the track prior to the start of the ceremony.
We have a small group of volunteers responsible for assembling the bags and placing
them around the track. However, as with many things, you can never have enough people
to help out! If you would like to be of assistance Friday night, please come to the
luminaria tent and offer your services!
We have thousands of tea lights to be lit prior to the start of the luminaria ceremony Friday
night. There is a small group of volunteers responsible for lighting the lights, but as
always, you can never have enough help! If you would like to help us with this very
important job, please come to the luminaria tent about an hour before the ceremony starts,
and bring your friends!
The luminaria ceremony will begin around 9:00 PM Friday night. How long it lasts
depends on how many luminaria are received, but we will try to keep it to between
an hour to an hour and a half.
That's a wonderful idea! We only ask that you please wait until the tea lights have
finished their job. We want to see all of the luminaria on the track for as long as
possible. It's a very emotional and powerful sight!
We have a small group of volunteers responsible for removing the bags from the track. As
always, there's strength in numbers and any help would be appreciated, so if you have some
spare time to help clean up, we'd certainly appreciate it!