(Courtesy www.thejournalonline.com)

The Finale Celebration for the Rai$ing Race in Anderson’s Amazing Space will culminate two days of fun activities and will be the primary fundraiser for the Leslie Ann Mazzara memorial.

Proceeds from the event will go to a new cottage for Calvary Home for Children to be named for Mazzara, a former Miss Williamston, who was fatally stabbed along with her roommate last October in Napa California. The case remains unsolved.

Advance tickets for the family oriented celebration event, which will be held at the Anderson Civic Center on Saturday, August 13 at 5:30 p.m., are now on sale for $15.

Admission includes a barbecue plate and drink from Ole Country Smokehouse, the opportunity to meet and have photos taken with celebrities and lots of fun.

The Shooting Star Classics will headline the Finale Celebration which will include a local rapper and DJ.

The Shooting Star Classics features Amazing Race Season 7 cast member Ray Housteau. Other cast members who participated on the reality TV show along with organizer Kelly McCorkle, are expected to attend the event.

Newly crowned Miss S. C. Erika Grace Powell and Mrs. South Carolina, Angela Singleton Hughes are expected.

"Radio" James Kennedy and Coach Jones will also be attending, McCorkle said, as well as members of the Greenville Grrrowl Hockey organization and their mascot.

Tickets for the finale celebration are now available at these locations:

In Williamston, tickets are available at The Williamston Municipal Center, 12 W. Main St. and The Journal, 106 W. Main St.

In West Pelzer at Cuttin’ Loose Hair Salon, Hwy 8. and in Belton at Curves, 216 City Square.

In Anderson at Grady’s Great Outdoors, 3440 Clemson Blvd.; Ecoscape Adventures, Inc.,1502 E. Greenville St.; Rags to Riches, 511 W. Whitner St. and both locations of Modern Cleaners, 3307 Cinema Ave. and 113 Whitehall Rd.

Tickets are also in Greenville at WSSL 100.5, 7 North. Laurens St.

Persons who would like to order over the internet using PayPal can purchase tickets online at www.lesliemazzarafund.com.

Rai$ing Race participants and winners will also be recognized during the finale celebration evening which begins immediately following the end of the Rai$ing Race activities.

Organizers are looking for volunteers to help with the event including observers for each of the teams. Observers will ride with a team, but cannot participate or help them as they complete their tasks, according to McCorkle.

An information session for volunteers will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening (Aug. 11) at the Ramada Inn, North Main St. in Anderson and Friday morning at 8 a.m. at the Civic Center for volunteers.

Proceeds from the event, which organizers hope will be more than $25,000, will go toward a third cottage for Calvary Home for Children.

The Leslie Mazzara Cottage will be the third in the center and will cost approximately $250,000 to construct, according to Director Sam Henderson,

Calvary Home for Children is located on 25 acres of land on Simpson Road, Anderson. There are plans for 6 homes and a multipurpose building.

Each of the cottages are 6,000 sq. ft. brick homes which are built to special set of safety codes which include walls, doors, fire codes and other standards.

They have eight bedrooms and other special amenities including two stoves, 2 washers and 2 dryers for the residents.

Children placed with Calvary Home for Children can stay from a few months to 2 years if necessary, according to Henderson. They also attempt to keep siblings together.

The homes are sponsored by churches, businesses, and fund-raisers, according to Henderson and receive no federal support.

The organization is a 501C3 non profit which was incorporated in 1998.

Calvary Home for Children also operates a Rags to Riches Thrift Store located at 511 West Whitner St. in Anderson.

Mazzara was a graduate of Belton Honea Path High School, a member of the Greenville Ballet Company and attended the S. C. Governor’s School for the Arts. She graduated in 2003 from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

She was crowned Miss Williamston in 2002 and went on to compete in the the Miss South Carolina Pageant.

She became an advocate for abused and neglected children, speaking at church and school events to raise awareness, promoting legislation and conducting fundraisers for Stephanie’s Cottage at Calvary Home for Children.

Stephanies Cottage, was named after Stephanie Carter, a four-year-old Anderson girl who died on October 17, 2000 after a year of torture at the hands of her father and stepmother.

With Mazzara’s help, the cottage was completed and the first children moved in in 2002.

She moved to California and was working for a winery when she and a roommate were brutally stabbed on October 31, 2004. No arrests have been made.

McCorkle has taken up the cause of her "best" friend and the efforts of the family and friends of Mazzara who have begun a memorial fund to raise money for a third cottage.

Calvary Home for Children is a long term residential care facility that provides a home for abused, neglected and orphaned children from all over the Southeastern U. S.

Children from the upstate of South Carolina and surrounding areas receive special consideration, according to Henderson.

Anyone interested in making a donation toward the Leslie Mazzara Cottage or helping with the great race event being organized by McCorkle can contact Sam Henderson at Calvary Home for Children at (864) 296-5437.

For more information on the event, check the website at www.lesliemazzarafund.com.