It’s the most popular 46-hour Dance Marathon in Centre County. Penn State’s THON kicked off Friday night. THON has only just started, but folks have been having a ball for hours.
One THON Spokesperson tells us all the events held throughout the year try to keep the love and magic of THON alive until the big weekend. Megan Dalo, THON ’22 Media Relations Lead saying: “But preparing for this weekend, isn’t just a couple of weeks, not even just a couple of months. It really does take the entire year.”
She tells us that, in the span of just 12 hours, they’ve converted the BJC from a Basketball Arena to an event space fit for THON’s grand return. A goal for this THON is to make sure everyone can safely experience THON as it’s meant to be. Megan saying: “So, one of the biggest changes is, masks will be required for everyone in the building.” Megan continues: “Anyone entering the building is required to either: present proof of vaccination and being fully vaccinated; or a negative COVID-19 test, dated after Wednesday the 16th, as well.”
Two Classes of Penn State Students have never experienced an in-person THON, making this weekend even more special for the Community. Gigi Padilla, a THON Staff member saying: “I think it’s a really interesting experience, especially interesting to see. Like, a lot of my own CMs have never seen an in-person THON. So it’s really fun to have them do all the tasks that they’ve been talking about for two years, but haven’t been able to actually do.”
However, at the end of the day, THON’s about one thing. Megan saying: “It just gives us the opportunity to create such beautiful moments in the fight against childhood cancer. And our goal is that we’ll dance in celebration of a day where there’s no cancer. For now, we dance for that cure.”
