One-hundred and eighty-seven families, 1,300 student volunteers, 46 hours of nonstop dancing and an entirely new home, all in hopes to find a cure for pediatric cancer -- Thon 2007 is about to begin.

The Interfraternity/Panhellenic Council Dance Marathon officially begins at 6 p.m. and will end at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Penn State tradition will be held for the first time in the Bryce Jordan Center, and unlike previous years, it will be 46 hours, not 48.

The doors will open to the public at 4 p.m., Bill O'Tormey, OPP overall chairman, said. For attendees driving, parking is available in Lot 44 (Jordan East), Stadium West, West Lot and Porter North, he said.

Entrances are located at any of the four gates on the concourse level -- Gates A, B, C or D -- and will be open for the public until the BJC reaches capacity as dictated by fire codes.

"If it gets to capacity at any point, [OPP] will close the doors," O'Tormey said. "I think we're expecting a lot [of people]. I think we can pull a pretty good-sized crowd."

Though some have expressed hesitation regarding the move to the BJC, many have embraced it.

"Thon is in the hands of the students," Jeff Krisciunas, president of the Dance Marathon Alumni Interest Group (DMAIG), said. "They wanted to move to the Bryce Jordan Center."

One difference between this year's Thon and previous years is an in-house family lounge, where Thon families can relax while enjoying the weekend's festivities. The lounge will now be located inside the BJC, unlike previous years when it was located in Waring Commons, across from Rec Hall.

"[The family lounge] is in the same building, which is a huge bonus," Mary Rowe, family relations overall chairwoman, said.

Rowe said an unprecedented 187 families have registered and are expected to attend this year's Thon. The ages of Thon children range from three months to 23 years old. The oldest Thon child in remission attending Thon is 32, Rowe said.

Hosting Thon in the BJC will also allow food to be prepared on-site. In an e-mail message, Melissa Ciurlino, overall hospitality chairwoman, said there will be 52 food donors, with 12 of them being new this year. Included in the donations are 1,410 cases of beverages donated by Pepsi, 800 of which are bottles of water.

Students who can't make the walk to the BJC can take advantage of the 24-hour non-stop service provided by the Centre Area Transit Authority (CATA). Both the Blue Loop and White Loop will be running from 6 p.m. today to 6 p.m. Sunday. According to a press release, frequency will be between five and 20 minutes.

Thon will kick off at 5:30 tonight with a pre-show and 10-second countdown by Overall Chairman Michael Funk, Lindsay Jenkins, overall entertainment chairwoman, said. Included in the pre-show will be the Whiplash Dance Team, which will be performing again later tonight.

"We put together a medley of songs to create a five-minute piece," Whiplash President Taylor Baker said.

The line dance will be revealed to the dancers, spectators and families shortly after Thon kicks off.

Throughout the academic year, student groups have been preparing for the big event.

The Penn State Blue Band has been preparing for its performance at Saturday night's pep rally.

"Our members volunteer, and we always have a big turnout," former Blue Band President Eric Menendez said. "And during the bathroom break, members of the Blue Band give massages and they'll sing fight songs to keep up the energy in the dancers. It's lots of fun."

-- Arianna Davis contributed to this story.