Get doused in color at the Gator Glow Throw
ST. AMANT – Looking for something exciting to do this weekend? Then head over to Lamar-Dixon Expo Center for St. Amant High School’s first ever Gator Glow Throw.
The concept for the 5K-color run came from Student Council Co-advisor Alice Bourque after she attended a similar run in Baton Rouge last year with her family.
"I saw an advertisement on Facebook for a My School Color Run and I thought, wow this would be really cool to do at school,” Bourque said. “I talked with my principal and she was all for it.”
The school’s goal is to raise $5,000, though Bourque said she anticipates to only raise around $4,000 since it is the first time having the fundraiser. Proceeds from the event will not be kept for the school, but will instead be given to the Louisiana Special Olympics.
Council advisors and members chose the Special Olympics because they felt the charity embodies what the student council stands for, leadership and community.
“Our principal Mia Edwards says repeatedly to us throughout the year that all means all," Bourque added. "We are very supportive of our special needs students. That’s what made us look at the Louisiana Special Olympics, because it really represents what we represent here of all means all.”
If you missed the early registration for the Gator Glow Throw, that’s okay, participants will still be able to sign-up until Jan. 30. However, those who signed up late will not be guaranteed a race bib and t-shirt.
Registration begins at 8 a.m., followed by the race at 9:30 a.m. There will be teachers, cheerleaders, and Student Council, FFA and 4-H members volunteering throughout the day.
Bourque said that as of Jan. 22 there were 350 entries, and she expects to get more by the day of the race. Since there will be hundreds of participants, runners will be released in waves of 30 every two to three minutes.
“We will let them take off in waves so that we don’t have tons of people getting to color stations where they are overwhelmed trying to spray."
There will be four-color stations with up to four misters spraying runners with non-toxic colored water. At the end of the race, volunteers will hand every participant a color packet made of colored cornstarch to throw during the powder throw. Jambalaya will also be available, courtesy of the Jambalaya Festival Association.
“Our goal is to grow and have all of our high school, all of our schools really, there’s no reason that everyone in Ascension Parish shouldn’t get behind it.”
Student council members will present the Special Olympics with a donation check at the Polar Plunge on Feb. 27. Officers will also participate in the plunge, jumping in the freezing cold waters a Cabela’s.
