A rock band cranked out loud music. People carried hula hoops. On the infield, tents and shade canopies vied with cardboard car races.  Children scurried around.

It could have seemed like just a big party, if you didn’t know any better. But behind the fun and the music at Hanford High’s Neighbor Bowl this weekend was the reality of cancer.

It was the annual 24-hour Relay For Life fundraising event that hundreds of people attended -- a festive event that celebrates cancer survivors, remembers those who died and raises money for cancer research.

The fundraising total wasn’t immediately available, since the event runs through 9 a.m. Sunday.

The enthusiasm, however, was beyond question.

People walked around the track carrying or wearing mementos remembering a loved one with cancer or signifying their membership in one of the fundraising teams with names like “Strike out Cancer,” “Rocketeers” and “Running for a Cure.”

At one booth, three girls -- Chloe Correia, 7; Maddy Mello, 11; and Dulany Jones, 11 -- signed pledges that they would never smoke.

Mello and Jones wore lime green T-shirts reading, “Lymphoma Busters.”

“I hope not to smoke, ever, and I hope no one else does,” Mello said.

Walkers made their way around the track. One woman hobbled on crutches. Some motored around in wheelchairs.

Under a shade canopy of the infield, 81-year-old Van Liggett sat watching. He watched several relatives and friends participating in a cardboard car contest several yards away. Each had on a T-shirt signifying their membership in the “Lucky Penny” team.

One of them was his wife, Frances Liggett, who got colon cancer 15 years ago.

“It brings the community together ... you see how many survivors there are,” Liggett said. The 76-year-old said she’s noted the absence of those who died amid the celebratory atmosphere for those who lived. She seems to see fewer people dying each year as cancer treatments get more sophisticated and research progresses.

Each year it hits new people, and new faces show up to join veteran attendees like Liggett.

“You don’t know when it’s going to touch somebody’s life,” said Chris Barba, who got breast cancer three years ago.

As Barba and Frances Liggett talked, they reminisced about hoping to live long enough to see the next kid or grandkid graduate from high school.

“You want more and more. So you add another year,” Barba said with laugh.

It’s was like that at the relay, laughter mixed with sadness mixed with optimism.

“For me, it’s the cause,” said Marjorie Batin, a guitar player and lead singer in the band “Exit Strategy,” which belted out classic rock tunes to an appreciative audience.

Like many in attendance, Batin was cancer free but was remembering several friends and family affected by the disease.

“We wanted to cheer the walkers. Music is a gift that needs to be shared, and this is the best possible cause right now,” Batin said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432. (Oct. 10, 2009)