After a successful year of hosting the Sumner/Bonney Lake Relay For Life at Bonney Lake High School, the city of Bonney Lake is getting its own Relay for 2013.

The two cities have always participated in a joint Relay for Life at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner, but after construction at the stadium forced this past summer’s event up the hill, the American Cancer Society is splitting the two cities.

“It went so well this went into motion,” said Bonney Lake chairperson Nicole Remington, who called this year’s event a “dry run, logistically.”

Remington said the group tasked with running Bonney Lake’s first Relay were still in the early stages of planning and had not yet picked a theme for next year’s event, but said they are hoping for a “nice rivalry” with the Sumner Relay as a way to help both events raise more money to support cancer research.

Remington said that because every Relay is different and individualized, there is the opportunity to do something new and different in Bonney Lake.

“We have the opportunity to set our own traditions,” she said.

For example, Bonney Lake’s Relay will take place a month earlier in June, which Remington said she hoped would encourage more participation from students.

Remington said Bonney Lake would do most of the major milestones, from a survivor’s lap to the luminarias and said they planned on co-opting at least one of Sumner’s traditions: the campsite decorations.

Remington praised the decorations and said they added a level of fun to the event, so she hoped Bonney Lake would do something similar at their Relay.

The Bonney Lake crew is also still searching for volunteers to fill key positions, such as the logistics chair, the youth involvement chair, the sponsorship chair, publicity chair and entertainment and activities chair, among others.

Bonney Lake’s inaugural Relay For Life is scheduled for June 28 at Bonney Lake High School. Sumner’s Relay is set for July 26 at Sunset Chev Stadium.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Remington at 253-444-7974 or email relaynicole@comcast.net.