Returning to the late spring, the annual Relay For Life event is scheduled at Johansen High School in Modesto on May 18 and 19.

This will be the fourth year for the combined event, the Relay For Life of Greater Stanislaus County, encompassing teams from several communities throughout the county as well as some from neighboring counties.

The official team kick off will be hosted at the Doubletree Hotel in Modesto on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m.

This will be the time for those interested in joining a team and those who are already part of the Relay For Life to get geared up for the 2024 event.

Though the 2023 Relay was just a few months ago, the Event Leadership Team agreed to bring it back to the original late spring date as opposed to having it in the fall. It also is moving back to Johansen, where the Modesto Relay began years ago.

Now, Modesto, Oakdale, Turlock, Ceres, Riverbank and more send teams to the combined event and for the past three years it has been hosted at John Thurman Field in Modesto, home of the Modesto Nuts minor league baseball team.

The goal in bringing it back to Johansen is to have a more centrally located site.

All interested are encouraged to attend the kick off meeting on Feb. 22.

Theme for this year is ‘A World with More Birthdays’ and the fundraising goal for the 2024 event has been set at $175,000.

The American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, Relay For Life locally is staged over a 24-hour period. It will run from Saturday, May 18 at 9 a.m. to Sunday, May 19 at 9 a.m. and will include not only the opening and closing ceremonies but also a luminaria ceremony, music, a special crafts and game area for kids, food, a classic car show, a variety of theme laps, and more.

The fundraising year runs through the end of October so even though the event is in May, teams will be continuing to raise money to benefit ACS for several months after the actual 24-hour Relay.

To get involved, you can register for the 2024 event by going to: www.relayforlife.org/stanislausca