POULSBO — If a picture is worth a thousand words, the image of more than a hundred cancer survivors promenading proudly together under the summer sun shouts.

That portrait declared the courage, strength and perseverance that people are capable of as North Kitsap’s 2006 Relay for Life provided a 24-hour venue of inspiration, remembrance and hope.

More than 650 people at the event rallied under the theme, Relay Around the World, celebrating positivity while honoring both survivors and those who have succumbed to the disease.

“A lot of people don’t realize cancer is not like chicken pox, chicken pox is just one thing … cancer is hundreds of things and everyone is a little different than the next,” said Relay for Life chairman Mel Bird. “The research is aiming at tackling one (form) at a time … it’s a big task.”

It’s an enormous task, one which calls for a united effort to combat. Saturday at the North Kitsap High School stadium, the NK community united to raise is fists in the ongoing fight to find a cure.

More than 50 teams officially signed up and raised funds for the event with the Suquamish Clearwater Casino donating the largest portion of the proceeds while the Raytheon Corporation raised the second largest amount, Bird said.

Altogether, Bird said the event had collected more than $114,000 by the time cleanup had concluded Sunday afternoon.

“And they were still counting, there were still people bringing money in,” Bird said, estimating that by the time all is counted he expects to meet the Relay’s set goal of $125,000. “It was a wonderful event, I was really proud of everything everybody did.”

The Relay for Life committee, comprised of 30 people, distributed its workforce to cover the logistics of the event, from setting up and tearing down to coordinating concessions and special events. The teams participating in the actual relay combined forces to help raise more than $100,000 for cancer research, and local corporations lent a hand with donations as well as help with the event — Pepsi Cola donated cases of water and Bella Luna Pizza of Suquamish made a special 5 a.m. pizza delivery.

“Everybody made a little contribution here and there,” Bird said.

“It was an absolutely awesome event,” said luminaria event organizer and Raytheon corporation team member Lauren Miller. “It’s a really good feeling knowing that your doing something like this to help.”

Miller along with Candy Renfrow, Terry Darrow and Alyson Davis put together the key event of the Relay, Bird said, which was the luminaria event that lit up the field Saturday night.

Memories and hope lined the track in the form of glowing paper bags with personal messages adorning each one. Event-goers emotionally moseyed around the track reading the messages left by loved ones in support of those who have died and those still fighting as heavenly harp music emanated through the stadium speakers.

Miller and the luminaria committee also put together a slide show that summed up the reason to relay.

“Just trying to make people aware of the people we’ve lost and what a good effort that relay for life is,” Miller said. “To see all these people who have battled or are in the process of battling cancer is inspiring.”