Anderson’s Livestrong Weekend Oct. 2-4

ANDERSON – What do a 40-foot dragon boat, a campground on Hartwell Lake and Lance Armstrong have in common? All will be part of Anderson’s Livestrong Day the weekend of Oct. 2-4.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation’s annual advocacy day for cancer survivorship on Oct. 2 is celebrated world-wide. This is a milestone year, as Livestrong Day marks the tenth anniversary of the day professional cyclist Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The Upstate S.C. Army of the Livestrong Foundation will use that day as the starting point for a weekend of activities at Tiger Cove Campground on Hartwell Lake. The highlight will come Saturday afternoon, when the Army’s new dragon boat will be paddled into the cove by a team of breast cancer survivors. Tiger Cove Campground is located off Asbury Road, across the lake from Portman Marina.

The Camp for the Cure weekend was the dream of Becky Lash, who bought Tiger Cove Campground with her husband Jamie in 2005. Mr. Lash was diagnosed with cancer shortly after that, but he worked through most of his illness to get the campground into shape after years of neglect. He died this past March and Mrs. Lash is hosting the Livestrong Day and Camp for the Cure in his memory.

Half of all registrations for tent and RV sites and the campground’s cabins will benefit the Cancer Association of Anderson that weekend. Activities begin at sundown Friday, when singer/guitarist Butch Hicks will lead an old-fashioned sing-around-the-campfire. It is open to the public as well as campers.

On Saturday, the campground will be alive with activities on water and land, including kayak rentals by Grady’s Great Outdoors; arts and crafts for children; a variety of artisan and craft booths; live music by the Smooth Too of Atlanta; Chinese and American food specialties; an outdoor yoga demonstration and class by Senior Solutions; and cornhole tournaments for kids and adults.

At 1:30, Huo Li, the dragon boat owned by the Upstate SC Army and the Cancer Association of Anderson, will be paddled into the cove, followed by a Chinese swimming dragon dance by local performance artist Naimah Abdullah. Novice paddlers can join the team for a short ride on the water in the dragon boat for a nominal fee.

A complete schedule of activities can be found on the Cancer Association’s website, www.cancerassociationanderson.org/campforthecure.asp

Campsites are still available, and artists and crafters are still being sought for the weekend. For information, contact Becky Lash at 225-5993.