LUTCHER — The St. James Parish Relay for Life Leadership Team is excited to announce a new line-up of events and activities planned for this year’s event April 1.

In addition to the amazing food, activities, bands and memorial ceremony that help draw a crowd, the 2017 “Hope Fest” will host a 5K race, cabbage ball tournament and cook-off.

The first annual Relay 5K will be held at Lutcher Park the morning of Relay for Life.

Registration for the race begins at 8 a.m., and the race will start at 9 a.m. March 10, is the registration deadline to receive a T-shirt. Cost is $20 for preregistrations and $25 on race day.

Contact Bridget Matherne at 225-413-4671 or email bridget_louque@yahoo.com to register.

This year’s Relay for Life will also host a co-ed cabbage ball tournament starting at noon. Elimination terms will be determined based on the number of entries. Entry fee is $150 per team and will be due March 24. To register, call 225-241-5854 or email kayne1483@yahoo.com.

Cook-off teams will begin the cooking competition at 9 a.m. with sampler platters available for purchase at 4:30 p.m. The categories will be: soup/gumbo, meat entrée and seafood entrée.

Teams must prepare 75 servings, which will be sold to benefit Relay for Life. Contact Lauren Haase at 225-445-2344 or email lauren.haase@mineralstech.com to sign-up or for more information. In addition to cook-off cuisine, Relay teams will serve an array of food, snacks and desserts — including many fan favorites from past events.

This year’s Leadership Team is led by Brandi Louque, Chair (brandilouque@hotmail.com); Bridget Matherne, Co-Chair (bridget_louque@yahoo.com) and ACS Relay Specialist Lauren Bolles (lauren.bolles@cancer.org).

Those interested in learning more but can’t make a meeting, can contact one of the event leaders or visit the parish’s Relay Facebook Page (search @stjamesrelay). The Relay Facebook Page is a great resource to learn about team fundraisers, upcoming meetings and events and to print luminaria and fundraising forms. To register a team online, visit relayforlife.org/stjamesla.