Carnival for the Cure, an event that raises money to find a cure for pediatric brain cancer, raised $71,762 at Saturday’s event at Ceraland.
The carnival, which has been held for five years, has raised slightly more than $250,000.
Organizer Lynn Whittington had set a fundraising goal of $60,000 for this year, and had initially worried about rain that had been forecast for that day.
“We were the only dry place in the entire county,” she said of the event, which attracted hundreds of people to play carnival games, enjoy carnival food and raise money for pediatric brain cancer research.
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The approaching stormfront appeared to go around Ceraland by about a three-mile radius, resulting in dry conditions and sunny skies for the carnival, Whittington said.
The carnival is held each year in memory of Whittington’s son Peyton, who died of a brain cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, at age 5 in 2013. The inoperable, tentacle-like tumor had encased the boy’s brain stem. After his death, the tumor was donated to medical researchers who are still using it to try to find a cure for the cancer.
A group of family and friends staged an informal carnival at the Whittington home near Columbus during Peyton’s last days. That carnival was held two days before Peyton’s death on June 2, 2013.
Peyton’s twin brother Stillman did a butterfly release at this year’s carnival along with Alana Cook, a Columbus student who underwent six months of radiation and chemotherapy to treat a rare and malignant form of brain cancer and is now in remission.
The two released 60 butterflies in Peyton’s memory, supplied by Jewell Rittman Funeral Home. A butterfly release was also done at Peyton’s funeral, Whittington said.
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To make a donation to Peyton’s Angels Indiana Chapter of The Cure Starts Now, visit indiana.thecurestartsnow.org/
To learn more about pediatric brain cancer, visit thecurestartsnow.org.
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