RELAY For Life had a terrific turnout of supporters at its new venue on Saturday, smashing the fundraising goal of $50,000.

Organisation co-chair Jodie Vaughan yesterday said event reached $51,000 in funds raised and expected it will reach $55,000 by the time donations close at the start of April.

Funds are donated to Cancer Council Victoria.

“We had two teams that raised over $12,000 each,” she said.

“We had just over 200 registered walkers and 14 teams participate on the weekend, and that was schools, council, we had sporting clubs, families, and work groups.

“If you raise $5000, you get a cancer research project in your team’s name or in a nominated team name, and we overall had six cancer research projects that will be named in Portland Relay For Life team names.

“It was just generally a really great day. We were definitely blessed by the weather.

This year the event was held on the Portland Soccer Club’s  Friendly Society Reserve.

“All the feedback about the new venue was absolutely more than positive, everyone loved it.

“It created a much more intimate atmosphere, was great having it close to town. People would just wander into town and get food from shops if they want to, so that’s really great for supporting local business.

“People just came and went. We had some people just drop in and ask, ‘what's going on here’ and they'd register and take part for a few hours.”

The 12-hour event kicked off 10am with an opening ceremony and survivors and carers lap. Carers and survivors wore sashes so they could be recognised throughout the day.

Lots of fun activities were held. There were quizzes, dress-up themed laps, a stretching session with Nettique Pilates, children’s games, and a mini-Olympics.

Live music was also a highlight, and there was a survivors and carers functions featuring David Rogers and Helen Watt who shared their journey as cancer survivors.

Toward the end of the day at 9pm was the candlelight ceremony. Three candles were lit to represent the past, present and future of cancer.

“The whole day is run by volunteers from the committee to the local Cancer Council, to the performers,” Ms Vaughan said.

“Portland Aluminium supply us with apprentices for the setup, so we've got our little minions to help us get everything sorted.

“Portland Aluminium is a big sponsor of ours, they will give us $3000, plus a crew of about eight or nine workers that will come out on the Friday and help the guys set up all the big stuff.

“We are a cost neutral event, so we have no budget. The Cancer Council Victoria covers the cost of our security and first aid because they're quite significant costs.

“Everything else is paid for by the support of local community and business.”