Project Elevation plans Saturday tailgate party in Albany to raise prostate cancer awareness

ALBANY – The coalition tackling prostate cancer in southwest Georgia is holding a tailgate party with music, a car show, a wing cook-off and free haircuts as part of the festivities on Saturday to encourage dads to take better care of themselves.

The Prostate Cancer Awareness Tailgate/Family Festival also will celebrate survivors and honor those who paved the research pathway to help other men. The festival will run from 10 a.m-2 p.m. at 1412 Radium Springs Road.

“This is the first time we’ve held it out of the church,” Tosh Sevier, an event organizer, said. “We’re wanting the families to come out and support the men. Our campaign is to raise awareness.”

Project Elevation, a coalition built by Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and assisted with grants from the Morehouse School of Medicine, has trained men in church settings to bring awareness to communities in southwest Georgia. It also has brought in barbers like Sevier who spread the message of prostate health to men in that casual setting.

Men 35 and older should consider a screening, and that should start at 30 for men who have a family history of prostate cancer, Sevier said.

The tailgate party will include free food and testing for vision, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and more. There also will be giveaways, games, vendors and music.

File Photo: Carlton Fletcher