LifeWalk, the annual 5K AIDS fundraiser, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, but the event is going to be different this time around because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are all still fighting the battle with COVID,” noted Terry Walker, events coordinator for Prism Health North Texas, the agency that puts on LifeWalk each year to raise money for itself and other AIDS service organizations in North Texas.

“And we didn’t want to do a live event because of the epidemic. But you can still register for and raise money for LifeWalk.”

That’s why LifeWalk is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a ’90s theme and going “Totally Virtual.”

Walker said LifeWalk organizers are following the lead of other organizations that rely on race/walks each year to raise money and encouraging those who register to complete a 5K on their own and then share photos of themselves completing their walks on social media with the LifeWalk hashtag.

“Rather than taking to the streets together, LifeWalkers can walk, run, rollerblade, bike or do any activity they want for 5 kilometers, 3.1 miles or 3,100 steps — or do 30 pushups for LifeWalk’s 30th anniversary — share their hard work on social media with #LifeWalk2020, and then tune into the livestreamed celebration with entertainment and surprises.

In years past, he added, that has been #LifeWalkDallas. But a new hashtag is being planned for this year to commemorate the virtual event.

Walker said organizers are “still kind of figuring it all out” when it comes to exactly how the virtual LifeWalk event will take place on Oct. 11. “But we are envisioning a kind of modern-day only telethon” with “possibly some national celebrities and some local celebrities appearing to talk about why we need the money that LifeWalk will bring in,” he said.

Because of the COVID epidemic which has interfered with many agencies’ usual fundraising efforts and put additional strains on already-lean budgets, Walker continued, “There is a real need this year. Right now, it’s like we are back in the days of the late 1980s and the 1990s, where we are in an emergency situation when it comes to funding.”

With LifeWalk 2020 just over 30 days away, Walker said, in a normal year, fundraising by teams and individuals would already be in full swing. But COVID has put a damper on that, too, since most of those events were held in bars and restaurants, which are closed or severely limited in how many people they can host.

But people are adjusting. Individuals can go online to LifeWalk.org register themselves and then share the link for their personal fundraising page with family members and friends to start collecting donations. And everyone can participate in the upcoming virtual events being held to replace the usual in-person events.

Those upcoming virtual events include a virtual beer tasting with Peticolas Brewing Company on Aug. 14, the Team Clover Open Online Silent Auction Aug. 20-24, LifeWalk Pet Paparazzi Sept. 20-25 and the ’90s Virtual Dance Party featuring DJ Stevie Ray on Sept. 25.

And, of course, the Virtual LifeWalk 2020 Main Event, set for 11 a.m. on Oct. 11.

Get details on all these and more LifeWalk events at LifeWalk.org.

“The first annual LifeWalk was held in 1990 in the early years of the AIDS epidemic,” Walker said. “By taking this year

‘Totally Virtual,’ we hope to call on ’90s nostalgia and invite participants to get just as excited in front of their computer screens as they likely were back in the days of dial-up and AOL.

“I know we are going to be treated to some wonderful costumes and outfits on our participants’ screens,” he said. “We want to celebrate how far we’ve come while maintaining safety standards.”

— Tammye Nash