Light the Night Walk expects to draw thousands downtown
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Thousands will walk the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Sunday to bring a light to the darkness of cancer.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk begins at 7 p.m. at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Light The Night is a community event that raises awareness and funding for research and treatment options to eliminate cancer.
According to a press release, the festivities begin at 4 p.m. with two live bands, six food trucks, a kid's glow zone and glam station, a bouncy house and much more. The walk starts at 7 p.m. and participants can enjoy live music after the walk until 9 p.m.
More than 2,000 survivors, supporters, and those who have lost loved ones to blood cancers, “will light the night by carrying illuminated lanterns as they walk from The Depot and across the historic Stone Arch Bridge. Red lanterns represent supporters, white represent survivors and gold represents a loved one lost to a blood cancer,” the release said.
To honor this incredible event, the Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution that Oct. 16, 2016 is Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Light The Night Awareness Day in the City of Minneapolis and the 35W Bridge will be illuminated red, white and gold to raise awareness and "light the night" in the darkness of cancer.
Throughout the U.S., an estimated 1.2 million people are living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma or another form of blood cancer. Each of them, and the doctors who treat them, depend on research supported by LLS.
Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer, and every ten minutes, someone dies. Last year, LLS invested more than $67 million in cutting-edge research - bringing its total to more than $1 billion toward advancing cancer therapies and saving lives.