NATCHEZ — With the date for Relay for Life already pushed back by more than a month, and the Mississippi River taking its time descending, Relay officials made the decision to move the event across the river to the bluff in Natchez.

Relay was originally scheduled for May 6 and 7 on the Vidalia Riverfront, but it was pushed back to June 17 to give the river time to drop before the festivities took place.

“We decided that (it) was going to be too muddy and there was going to be too much water if we tried to have it on the riverfront,” Relay accounting chair Janis Holder said. “So we decided we needed to look for another spot.”

Holder said the amount of seepage water coming in Vidalia meant that the event had to be in Natchez, so a search for the new spot began.

“When we made the decision (in 2010) to postpone the Relay because of the high water, we did not know of another spot that would allow us to get the event together quickly,” she said. “We didn’t want to postpone it again this year, so we went to (Natchez Mayor Jake Middleton).”

Holder said the new location is something the Relay crew is ready to work with.

“We are very excited about the bluffs,” she said. “It is a beautiful venue that the city has worked very hard to upgrade.”

Relay chair Brigid Martin said planning for the event is going to be busy over the next three weeks, but the Relay crew is up for the challenge.

“We are trying to get things together so we know where everything is going to be located,” she said. “It is going to be a different place with a smaller venue, so we have to get to work on it immediately.”

Holder said no matter what challenges the Relay crew faces, the event will go on as scheduled.

“We are going to make this work,” she said.

Holder said the event would not be possible without the support of the City of Natchez and Middleton.

“The city officials have been more than accommodating to help us in any way they can,” she said. “We are pleased, and we couldn’t ask for any more from them.”

Martin said Relay officials met Thursday night to begin planning for the change in venue.