It’s zero dark thirty on Friday morning, and you’ve shuffled out of your cozy bed and donned your walking gear. You can feel the excitement in the air as a line of brake lights winds around the Opening Ceremony parking lot. Everywhere you look, pink walkers and festive crew are gathering and walking and talking, sharing hugs and handshakes, some for the first time. The air is balmy and the sky is waiting to burst into sunrise, peeks of pink and orange painting the clouds. There’s giddiness, joy, anticipation, and memory waiting all around you; for those first few moments where we stretch to warm us up, to the line of survivors making their way to the stage. Welcome – you’ve arrived at your Susan G. Komen 3-Day Opening Ceremony.

We know how hard you and your fellow walkers, crew, and volunteers work in the many months leading up to the weekend of the 3-Day, and we want to do everything we can to give you an amazing 3-Day experience. While you’re fundraising and training, we have a dedicated team who is carefully reviewing your feedback from 3-Days past, thinking of how we can make the 3-Day an even better experience for you next year. One change we’re so excited to introduce for the 2017 3-Day is the concept of our Opening and Closing Ceremonies “In the Round.”

This year, we’re eliminating the large main stage and focusing on a center stage, so that all participants have an amazing view and are in the middle of the action.

Those who have seen a 3-Day Opening or Closing Ceremony in the past may remember a main stage at the front, with a smaller, circular stage in the middle of the audience. This year, we’ll be doing away with the large main stage, and instead, focusing our attention on a circular stage in the middle of the audience – a concept known as “Theatre in the Round.” Our Event Operations Senior Manager, René, who is a theatre aficionado, shares, “We’re bringing people together even more this year, because we’re not just looking in one direction. We’re looking all around. We don’t want people to speak at you, so that’s also why you’ll see more and more survivor and participant interaction this year, with members of our 3-Day community leading our ceremonies.”

This concept will also be seen in our dining tent, where you’ll enjoy the Camp Show in the middle of the action. We hope you enjoy our new “in the round” style; and chances are, you’ll notice it in other elements of your 3-Day experience, too ;). Wouldn’t it be fun if your tents also had a common area and place to hang out, bringing your community together yet again? Keep an eye out when you arrive at camp on Friday, and you just might notice that this inclusive feeling shows up in a few other places.

We can’t wait to see you soon, and we encourage you to call your coaches if you have any last minute questions, or post here or on our Facebook. See ya around! 😉