A 5K run, Queen’s tea, womanless beauty pageant, bike-a-thon and more are planned for next week’s Gentry Day.
Feb. 24 will be a special day for Gentry Morgan Terrell, daughter of Amy and Brydon Terrell of Columbia, who has been diagnosed with DipG, a brain tumor that is inoperable. Events will take place in City Park on Broad Street and begin with the 5K at 8 a.m. A large committee of volunteers has been working to plan the event, which is a fundraiser for the Terrell family to help with Gentry’s fight. Recently, committee members Rhonda Dykes and Justin McKenzie spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Columbia about the event and described some of the activities.
“We were bombarded with questions asking what we could do and people saying they wanted to do this and that,” McKenzie said. “People were asking how they could help. Rhonda came down to City Hall one day and said she wanted to do something, but instead of individual events, let’s do something big. I think it’s going to be a great day. It’s going to be a big event. It will start around 8 a.m. that day and should end about 3 p.m., but it may go over that.”
Many people contributed ideas and the committee began to meet weekly. Students from Columbia High School wanted to put on a 5K race, so the event will kick off activities on Saturday.
“The day isn’t only about fundraising, it is about having fun with Gentry,” McKenzie said. “We wanted to do something that involved people young and old. We’ve got ideas like a bake sale and cakewalk. For the kids, there will be a cupcake walk. There will also be jumpers for the event. We’re trying to make it a fun-filled day centered around her.”
The event will feature a plethora of activities from local groups entertaining to food.
“I’m excited to be a part of this,” Dykes said. “Two years ago, we raised more than $7,400 for St. Jude with Presleigh (her granddaughter with spina bifida) rode for St. Jude. I was traveling to see my son, who is in the Army, and a friend called and told me about what the diagnosis was. The whole eight-hour trip, it was like God was saying, ‘You’ve got to do it again. Do it bigger, do it better.’”
Dykes spoke about all of the different events planned for the day.
“The 5K starts things off at 8 a.m. and after that is the fun run for children,” she said. “At 10 a.m., we’re having Tea with Queen Gentry, which is sponsored by ‘Tis Sew Sweet. It will be a formal tea party for girls with Gentry as the queen.
“We’ve got the womanless beauty pageant at 11 a.m., we’re going to do a balloon release and much more. The Ride for Gentry is more of a fundraising deal leading up to it, but we will have a ride at noon.
“We have Friends In Christ coming to do a puppet show at 1 p.m. and all kinds of things including a petting zoo and face painting throughout the day.
“There will be tons of things and we’re trying to make it inexpensive so families can come out and enjoy the day. This is a way people can have a family day and spend time with their kids.”
