About 3,500 bras — and still counting — benefit cancer fight
Published 9:32 pm Friday, November 4, 2016
- Anna Jones with Riverwalk Casino uses pink ribbon to tie bras along the side of the Old Vicksburg Bridge in preparation for the Riverwalk Casino 'Bras Along the Bridge' breast cancer walk on Friday. The Riverwalk Casino asked that new and old bras be donated for the walk and pledged that for each bra donated, Riverwalk will donate $1 to the American Cancer Society. The walk is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m.
Drivers on the I-20 bridge may do a double take this weekend when they glance over at the Old Highway 80 bridge.
That bridge is decked out in hues of pink, purple and nearly every color of the rainbow — in bras, no less.
For the ninth year, Riverwalk Casino and Hotel is sponsoring Bras Along the Bridge. The past Vicksburg tradition has made its way back to the River City this year after taking on a different form for a couple years in Jackson.
“We brought it back to Vicksburg. We’re all very excited about that,” Mary Hudson, marketing manager at Riverwalk, said.
About 3,500 bras were hung on the bridge Friday but Hudson said the casino is still counting bras donated as late as Friday. Bras were collected throughout the month of October and the casino pledged to donate $1 for every bra collected, which will be given to the American Cancer Society Saturday.
“The outpour from the community is just wonderful. We spent the entire morning hanging bras on the old river bridge,” Steve Reynolds, senior director of marketing at Riverwalk, said.
Because the counting process is still ongoing, Hudson does not know the amount of the donation just yet, but she said the total would be completely counted in time for the check presentation at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“We’re still counting,” Hudson said. “We’ve had quite a few. It’s been a good collection this year.”
The bridge will be open for a couple hours Saturday for the public to view the strung bras.
The free event begins at 8 a.m. when waivers will be available to sign to walk across the bridge.
The walk begins at 9 a.m. All ages are welcome to be a part of the walk and an adult must accompany all children.
“It’s just the opportunity for people to come down and see the bras that were hung out. We encourage and invite the residents of our community as well as breast cancer survivors or anyone coming through town at that time is welcome to come out and join us,” Reynolds said.
Longtime partners and new businesses participated in this year’s collection, and Hudson is excited for things to come as the event grows each year.
“We can’t wait for next year because we feel we will get even more participation because we brought it back to Vicksburg,” Hudson said.