Cancer awareness supporters filled Green Street between Wright and Sixth Streets with food, music and entertainment Thursday night. What looked like a large block party or a traffic hindrance in the heart of Campustown actually served as a fundraiser.

Colleges Against Cancer held its 3rd annual Paint Green Street Purple last night. The event acts as the kick-off for Relay for Life, a national fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Adam Schwartz, senior in ACES and president of Colleges Against Cancer, expected about 400 people to attend.

“Here we are, college students and ready to put the fight against (cancer),” Schwartz said.

Schwartz said that their efforts are part of the fight to eliminate cancer.

Though the street was not literally painted purple, purple balloons, tablecloths, signs and purple shirts on some people decorated the block.

“Purple is the color of Relay for Life,” Schwartz said. “It’s what we like to think of as hope.”

Relay for Life will take place in April 2006. Teams began registering for the spring fundraiser at the event and were offered a discounted entry fee of $35 as opposed to $50. Last year, the University’s Relay for Life raised $243,000. This year’s goal is $300,000, which would require 200 teams to participate, Schwartz said.

The fundraiser started at 6:30 p.m. with Colleges Against Cancer leaders informing the crowd about their cause. Booths lined the block. Some offered free cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn. Others had cancer awareness games. One booth demonstrated the toxins found in a pack of cigarettes.

“Most people don’t even know what chemicals are in them,” said Pooja Patel, sophomore in LAS and event volunteer.

People could also play euchre and tic-tac-toe or listen to music. Entertainment groups the X-tension Chords, Girls Next Door, Illini Drumline and Mike and Joe performed throughout the night. Restaurants, including Za’s at 629 E. Green St., and Qdoba Mexican Grill at 617 E. Green St., offered coupons and other discounts during the event.

The event ended about 9:30 p.m. when it moved to the Brother’s Bar and Grill at 613 E. Green St. Colleges Against Cancer’s “Smoke-free Bar Night” promoted healthy lifestyles with a focus on the dangers of smoking. It was a self-enforced program, but the bar’s ashtrays were removed and organization members tried to keep the night smoke free.

“I just hope it’s really successful and a lot of people come out and have a good time – and don’t smoke,” said Ellen Caruso, junior in business and co-chair for the event’s cancer control committee.

Colleges Against Cancer holds many other events throughout the year to raise cancer awareness. Two such events include October’s “Think Pink,” advocating breast cancer awareness, and November’s Great American Smokeout, fighting smoking. The largest event, however, remains Relay for Life.

“This is the first of many things that will be seen for Relay for Life,” said Jeremy Rose, sophomore in LAS and publicity chair for Colleges Against Cancer.

Josh Birnbaum The Daily Illini

The X-tension Chords, an all-male a cappella group, at right, preforms on Green St. between Wright and Sixth at the “Paint Green Street Purple” fundraising event on Thursday night.

The event was put on by Colleges Against Cancer and was the kickoff event for Relay for Life, an all-night walk-a-thon that raised more than $240,000 for the American Cancer Society.