BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Courthouse Square in Inez will trade quiet for a flurry of festive action June 6, as the Sleigh Cancer Awareness Festival returns with celebration, remembrance and purpose.

The event kicks off at 3 p.m. and runs until darks bringing together live music, food and drink concessions, a lively cornhole tournament, photo ops with Santa, and raffle giveaways from local businesses. Children can enjoy a special activity area while the scent of Mrs. Claus’s homemade goodies fills the air.

At the heart of this gathering is a greater cause: cancer awareness and education and raising funds for cancer research.

Families will have the opportunity to light candles in a memorial vigil and place green arrows on a Wall of Heroes, a tribute to survivors, fighters and angels.

Cancer awareness booths will offer education on prevention and how to support loved ones through a diagnosis.

From 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., the Kentucky Blood Center will operate a mobile blood drive, providing a tangible way for residents to help cancer patients who account for roughly a quarter of the nation’s blood use. Donors will receive a commemorative T-shirt, local coupons and a chance to win prizes.

Blood donors can register in advance at kybloodcenter.org, but walk-ins are welcome.

Now in its second year in Inez, Sleigh Cancer is one of several “Santa Causes” organized by Give Like Santa, a nonprofit founded by Matthew and Angela Ising. Angela is the daughter of beloved Inez basketball legend Floyd McCoy and Alice Cassady McCoy. The Isings encourage people to “give like Santa and love like Jesus” every day of the year.

Sleigh Cancer serves as a “multiplier” for Pelotonia, the high-profile annual bicycle ride held each August in Columbus, Ohio, now entering its 17th year. Since its founding, Pelotonia has raised more than $309 million for the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, with 100% of every dollar going directly to cancer research impacting institutions worldwide.