Many people believe the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon lasts 48 hours.

They are very much mistaken.

Thon is actually a year-round production, with months of activities, planning and fund raising that lead up to the big event.

Although the actual dance marathon won't start until Feb. 16, organizers brought a little bit of Thon atmosphere to Penn State yesterday.

At the annual Thon Family Reunion Carnival, hundreds of students welcomed about 100 children and their families to the event.

In the White Building gymnasium — where Thon took place for years before it grew too big and moved to Rec Hall — children and students played with finger paints, blew bubbles and made the floor shake as they stomped to the Thon line dance.

The families there all benefit from the Four Diamonds Fund, a program at the Hershey Medical Center that helps children with cancer.

Thon, commonly called the largest student-run philanthropy in the country, is responsible for most of the Four Diamonds Fund. Last year, Thon gave more than $3 million to the fund.

At the carnival, students were able to meet some of the children who benefit from their months of fund raising.

Leukemia patient Tanner Metz, 9, finished 38 months of chemotherapy about a year ago, said his mother, Michelle Metz. This will be the family's fifth year at Thon.

Tanner is doing well now, but during his many hospital visits, games and activities provided by the Four Diamonds Fund helped him and his brothers pass the time.

"There were many times when Tanner was hospitalized and I had to drag the kids out of the hospital to go home," Metz said.

Yesterday, Tanner and his two brothers were among the children playing games at the carnival.

At the end of the carnival, the 2001 Thon logo made its debut. It's a blue and white graphic of a child reaching for a star. In the shadow, the child has the star in hand.

"The logo is just about being so close to a goal that you can actually feel it," said Trisha Paurelsky (senior-graphic design), who designed the logo.

The 2001 theme — "Within Reach" — highlights the hope of finding a cure for cancer.

Beginning in 1999, Thon pledged to donate $5 million to support pediatric cancer research at the Hershey Medical Center, said Walt Breuninger, the Thon 2001 overall chair.

That commitment could help children like Mitchell Bear, 3, who has a rare blood disease called histiocytosis. Little is known about the disease, and doctors in Hershey are treating Mitchell with chemotherapy.

"With leukemia, there's a road map of what you do," said Mitchell's mother, Teri Bear. "But with what he has, there is no road map."

Bear also said the Four Diamonds Fund pays for everything that health insurance doesn't.

"We've been very fortunate with Hershey in that we're only about 40 minutes away," Bear said. "And they're great there."