Hopkinton Relay for Life: New PHOTO GALLERY

Two ways to post photos: Send them to gene.cassidy@patch.com and I'll post them or log on - create an account and password if you don't have them - and add the photos where it says add photos and videos here. Even if you post them yourself, send an email so I can move them to the front. Thanks!

At the final Captains Meeting before the relay, as Jen Curley and Will Relle gave instructions, Relle would start to say, "If it rains," then he would stop and say, "It's not going to rain."

He should put that in a bottle and sell it. Because despite rain all week, despite distant thunder, and despite as the sun slowly dropped the clouds tried as hard as they could to squeeze out a few drops, it didn't rain on Hopkinton's Relay for Life.

More than 90 teams walked, a lot more than 900 people particpated including all those who drove to the high school, ferried tents, provisions and little kids to the campsites, and more than $150,000 and counting was raised.

The walkers seemed to be about 90 percent kids too, from those who rode in wagons and strollers to recent high-school grads returned to Hopkinton from college just in time for Relay.

Some favorites: The boy with wild red curls wearing a sandwich board that said "Touch my hair for a dollar," the girls in poofy skirts and furry boots (middle-school fashion is cutting edge before everybody starts wearing jeans in high school) and Kermit the Frog in rain gear.

The fact that so many kids were involved in the organizing, fundraising, planning and walking gave the Hopkinton Relay for Life tremendous energy. It's amazing that an event that does so much good for so many people could be so much fun!

So give a hand to the youth of Hopkinton. They deserve it! And kids, give a hand to each other too! It was a great bonding experience for the community and a huge help in the fight against cancer.

GREAT JOB!!!

Oops. Two things to add. You can still donate to the Hopkinton Relay for Life by clicking here.

And the DJ was fantastic!