Rain may have threatened, but it was all rainbows at the Hope and Heroes Walk on Thursday evening at the Cypress Landing Golf Club.

The walk on the golf course brought in 264 registered participants and 20 or so “walk-ins,” to raise money for the Marion L. Shepard Cancer Center in Washington. The cancer center is a local hub of support for cancer victims, survivors and their caregivers — its services encompassing everything from educational programs to monetary assistance for those whose cancer diagnosis has led to financial hardship.

Hope and Heroes walkers were given a choice of walks: a 1.3-mile course or a three-mile course. At $20 per participant, those walking Thursday raised over $5,000 for the center.

But coupled with other fundraisers, the campaign to support the center and its services is heading toward $70,000 by today’s end. In addition to the Hope and Heroes Walk, Let’s Tee It up for a Cure golf tournaments take place today at both Cypress Landing and the Washington Yacht & Country Club — an unprecedented joint venture that has doubled the number of participants.

Another ongoing campaign to raise money and cancer awareness — the sale of handmade purple bows to individuals and purple and pink bows to local businesses to prominently display — has brought in close to $18,000; a ticketed raffle, another $10,000; a place on an “honor board,” honoring or memorializing a loved one, yet another $2,300.

The mood was festive at the Hope and Heroes Walk reception Thursday night, a pizza party featuring the band Never 2 Late — the crowd decked out in their Hope and Heroes T-shirts, donated by Vidant Home Health & Hospice.

“I am overwhelmed — it’s so exciting,” said Hope and Heroes Walk Chair Mary Jane Cooke.

Cooke and overall event Chairwoman Nancy Hackett, were both a little concerned at the black clouds gathering on the horizon before the walk, but in the end, a small shower cooled the temperature just enough, and a rainbow over eastern North Carolina greeted the start of the Hope and Heroes Walk.

“I’ve been concerned about the weather from the day I decided to chair it,” Hackett laughed. “But we’ve been lucky.”

Hackett, with the help of Cypress Landing’s head golf professional Peg Bodie, came up with the idea of the fundraisers — golf tournament, bow sales, raffle and walk — to not only honor their Cypress Landing neighbor Marion L. Shepard, but specifically to support the local cancer center named for him.

“This way, (the money) stays right here — for the patients and caregivers right here,” Hackett said.

Without a community effort, however, the events couldn’t have happened, was the consensus Thursday night, as organizers took to the makeshift stage to thank the many people participating.

“All I want to say is — what a class act this occasion is,” said Shepard Cancer Foundation President Ainsley Rusevlyan.

For more coverage on the cancer center fundraisers, see tomorrow’s coverage of the Let’s Tee It Up for a Cure simultaneous golf tournaments at Washington Yacht & Country Club and Cypress Landing.