Sept. 24, 2024

This paid event listing is sponsored by Light the Night.

Help “Light the Night” this weekend at Falls Park while raising awareness of blood cancer.

Held Sept. 28 beginning at 6 p.m., the event has 44 teams registered so far representing friends and family throughout South Dakota.

“The event is always a wonderful evening of community, gathering, hope and remembrance,” said Amanda Singer, campaign development director.

“We expect over 1,500 attendees at Light the Night as we pack Falls Park and raise our lanterns high to bring light to the darkness of cancer.”

The event is much more than a walk, featuring food trucks, bounce houses and many tents to interact with sponsors and community supporters.

“When it gets dark, we gather in front of the stage for the opening ceremony and lighting of the lanterns. Each attendee receives a lantern identifying why they walk: white for patients/survivors, gold for in memory and red for supporters who want to see the end of cancer,” Singer said.

“Immediately following the opening ceremony, the walk begins, and we hold our lanterns as we walk by the falls and around the park. At the end of the walk, we celebrate with fireworks. It’s a night to remember!”

This Blood Cancer Awareness Month, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is on a mission to cure blood cancers and improve quality of life for the nearly 1.7 million people in the U.S. living with or in remission from blood cancer.

That includes local honored hero Tommy Lambert, a pediatric leukemia survivor from Sioux Falls who will share his story at Light the Night.

“Tommy was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2023. That moment shattered our world in ways I could never have imagined,” his father, Thomas Lambert, said.

“Since that day, Tommy has continued to show all of us what it means to be resilient, what it means to fight and what it means to hope.”

Tommy is now in the maintenance phase of his treatment, “and while the journey is far from over, we take comfort in knowing that he — and so many others like him — are surrounded by love, support and the incredible advances in cancer research that organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society help make possible,” his father continued.

Register here to be part of Light the Night and its meaningful and memorable experience.