The 2018 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk will take place Sunday at Memorial Field in Concord. Here’s all the day-of-event information you need to know:
Parking: The Governor Hugh Gallen State Office Park is available for your parking needs. Please enter the parkway off Pleasant Street or Clinton Street. Please avoid using Fruit Street. There will be parking signs and attendants available to assist you. Shuttle buses will be available from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to shuttle participants from the parking area to the field. The Memorial Field parking lot will be reserved for those with accessibility needs.
Need assistance?: Our trained Volunteer Ambassadors, wearing neon green shirts and big smiles, are happy to assist you.
Safety: Please leave dogs, bicycles and all wheeled recreational items at home. This is for the safety of all of our participants. Children’s strollers, wagons and wheelchairs are welcome.
Registration: Everyone on the field, regardless of whether they are fundraising or not, is required to register, either online or with paper registration form, available at the registration tent from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Anyone who raises or donates $100 will receive a long-sleeve Making Strides T-shirt. It is the uniform of the day and unites us in our cause. The registration tent is located to your right as you enter the field.
Team members: Meet your team leader at your team sign, arranged alphabetically. Your team leader will have your team T-shirt. Team leaders will collect any additional donations and turn them in at the registration tent to the area marked “TEAM LEADERS.” Team leaders need to note any team members who raise $500 on their Bank Day Tally Sheet, so they can receive a voucher for the Making Strides tote bag. Each confirmed team will have a team sign at Memorial Field. Please do not remove your sign, as they are graciously donated by Advantage Signs Inc. and will be used each year.
Team photos: Team photo stations will be available from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., located to the left of the stage. As an alternative, if you have a team of 15 or fewer, there will be roving official Making Strides photographers who will be walking among the team signs to take photos at your team sign. Large team photos will be taken at the stage.
Request of team leaders: Please turn your shirt around for the photo. It is a clear way to get your team name in the photo!
Information tent: Located directly in front of you as you enter the field. “I am Making Strides for” stickers, awareness ribbons, survivor sashes, day of event programs and assistance are available here.
Strides store: Making Strides merchandise will be available for purchase. All proceeds benefit Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Cash, checks, debit and credit cards are accepted.
Selfie station: Bring your camera and take photos of you and your group using the Making Strides Logo backdrop, #concordstrides.
Garden of Hope: Visit this beautiful garden dedicated to all those lives touched by breast cancer. Tie a ribbon in honor of or in memory of someone you hold in your heart today.
Stories of Hope: Team leaders, volunteers and sponsors share why they are inspired to Make Strides.
ACS CAN: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is the nation’s leading cancer advocacy organization that is working every day to make cancer issues a national priority. Stop by to learn more about how you can help. Go to acscan.org/makingstrides for more.
Refreshments: Pizza and light refreshments will be sold to those who wish to purchase food before the walk. Join us after the walk for free refreshments donated by area businesses.
Visit Survivor Place: Survivors of all ages and all stages are welcome to experience the caring, support and hope. Bring your family and caregivers for conversation, reflection and friendship.
Survivor Procession: At 12:30 p.m., survivors are invited to gather at the information tent as we prepare to walk in unity to the stage for our time-honored tradition, the Survivor Photo.
Survivor Way: A shorter, 2.5-mile route for survivors and their families. Walk as little or as much as you want or take a ride back to the field in one of our courtesy buses.
Please respect opening ceremonies: Out of respect for our survivors, please refrain from leaving the field until the survivors have reconnected with their loved ones. When we all begin the walk together, it makes for a powerful display of unity in the fight against breast cancer. The course is not secured prior to 1 p.m. For your safety, please do not walk the course before 1 pm.
Courtesy buses: Multiple courtesy buses will be circling the walk route for anyone who would like a ride back to Memorial Field. There are four bus stops located on the opposite side of the street from the pedestrian traffic. No. 1 at the Clinton Street end of Langley Parkway, No. 2 at the Clinton Street end of Silk Farm Road, No. 3 at the Pleasant Street end of Dunbarton Road and No. 4 at the Pleasant Street end of Langley Parkway.
Portable restrooms: Available at Memorial Field, on Survivor Way and at the halfway point of the route, located on Silk Farm Road.
Water stations: Along the route, at every mile. Recycle stations will also be available.
Finish line: All are invited to make signs of appreciation and support and cheer walkers on as they cross the finish line. For many this is a powerful moment. Walkers will start coming across the finish line at 1:30 p.m., and more than 5,000 people will follow in the next few hours. Join us at the stage at approximately 3 p.m. to celebrate your fundraising success.
