There were children prancing around in angel costumes, families noshing on barbeque food and familiar tunes blasting from speakers. It was like one big Islandwide block party at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School track last Friday as Islanders gathered to celebrate life.

But all fell silent when Tammy King, chief organizer of the event, took the microphone to inaugurate Martha’s Vineyard Relay for Life’s ninth annual all-night fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

“We are going to find a cure this year!” she announced to resounding applause.

Mrs. King began by reminding participants why they had come. “Every donation is something,” Mrs. King said. “We are all proof of that.”

This year’s Vineyard Relay raised more than $75,000. According to the American Cancer Society, the relay event has received almost $4 billion in donations worldwide since 1985 and raises about $25 million a year in New England.

Joan Hewson, a survivor of breast cancer, delivered the keynote speech. She spoke of her journey through treatment, and her decision to treat cancer as a gift. “Relay teaches us what and who is important to us,” she said. She also recounted a humorous moment, during the time she was undergoing chemotherapy, when the wind swept up her newly-purchased hat and sent it flying down the street, exposing her newly bald head. “I was mortified,” she said.

Carla Furtaw was one of the many audience members shaking their heads in understanding. She remembers having her wig pulled off her head when she’d go to hug someone. “I’ve been there,” she said. “I can so much relate to what she’s saying.” When she was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1990, Mrs. Furtaw’s doctors told her she wouldn’t reach 30.

“Now I’m 47, and I’m so proud of my age,” Mrs. Furtaw said. “I lived 17 years longer than I was supposed to. I love my birthday and I hope to see quite a few more.”

“Something in the air [at Relay] brings everybody so close together,” said Dottie Grant, a cancer survivor who’s been walking in the relay for four years. “It’s very emotional.”

Chele Reekie, of West Tisbury, has been participating in the relay for seven years. She survived thyroid cancer twice, once when she was just 23 and then at 32. She also walks on behalf of her mother and father, both cancer victims. “It’s very important to try to find a cure,” she said. This year she walked in the Banker Babes Team. Some of the other 25 teams included Red Sox-themed Sweet Carolines, The Cancer Crushers, Save the Girls of the Breast Cancer Support Group and Victorious Secret, a team of high school seniors.

Mrs. Furtaw looks forward to spending the night at Relay each year. Her 21-year-old son pitches the tent and her six-year old daughter spends the night. The Relay is not only for her benefit, she said, it’s also an opportunity for her family to feel supported.

“I think it shows them that they’re not alone,” she said.

After the speeches, purple-shirted survivors walked triumphantly around the track, linking arms to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive while onlookers cried, laughed and danced. Hundreds of luminaria—white paper bags containing candles commemorating family members’ struggles with cancer—lined the inner ring of the track like soldiers standing guard.

Sally Sherwood, of West Tisbury, said she’s always considered cancer to be a private struggle. But this year, at her daughter’s request, she walked in the survivors lap for the first time. “It was emotional,” she said. “I am surprised at how many people have had cancer. It makes you wonder.”

Mrs. Furtaw called the survivors lap overwhelming. “I had one person on each side that I’d never met,” she said. “We linked arms and asked each other what kind of cancer, how long . . .You just can’t do that on the street, connect with people like that.”

So far, this year’s organizers raised $75,000 for the American Cancer Society, and hope to raise even more in the coming months.

But it’s not just about fundraising. Relay is also a kind of community support group. “There are a lot of people who are really sick right now,” Mrs. King said. “It’s one of those places were people can come and feel that there’s support.”

After months of planning, Mrs. King said she felt let down when the event ended. “I’m in the after-Christmas mode,” she said. “It’s another year away before we have Christmas again.”