THON captains will turn into competitors tonight as they fight for the title that could change their experience of 2013 THON weekend.
The Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon will host the annual Mr. and Mrs. THON Pageant at 7 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium. Tickets are $4 at the ticket office at the HUB-Robeson Center, with all funds going to the Four Diamonds Fund.
Media Relations Captain Megan Renaut said the event is meant to be fun with friendly competition and is designed to bring THON volunteers and the participating captains together.
A male and a female captain from each of the 14 committees will pair up and compete for the title of Mr. and Mrs. THON 2013. The title is based on talent, a runway challenge, and “a few other categories,” Renaut (sophomore-psychology) said.
The 28 selected captains for the competition were not chosen at random, but rather voted into representing their committees by their fellow captains. Elise Potter, the captain coordinating the event, said that each contestant was voted into the pageant by fellow captains during a captain meeting.
Potter said the pageant is divided into three portions of competition — talent, fashion and a question-and-answer round — for the finalists that make it that far.
“The first section is the talent portion. This is where the male and female team from each committee performs together. From there the competition shifts to the fashion gear section,” Potter (sophomore-public relations) said. “They dress up as either what they will be doing up to THON weekend, during THON weekend or what best represents THON weekend.”
However, before the announcement of the chosen finalists, Renaut said that guest act Four Diamonds child Dylan Moser will take the stage to perform for the crowd.
From there, one winner will be selected to perform on stage during THON weekend, as well as receive a crown and sash during the event.
Potter said that there will be five guest judges at the event to crown the winners of Mr. and Mrs. THON. The judges include THON Overall Chairperson Will Martin, Mike the Mailman, Penn State cornerback Mike Wallace, PJ Mullen from radio station B94.5 and 2012 Homecoming Executive Director Bridgette Carrier.
Carrier (senior-kinesiology) said she was surprised to be selected to judge the event and that she is looking forward to seeing the talent portion.
“I have never been to the event before, I am looking forward to experiencing the pageant for the first time,” Carrier said. “The THON captains, committee members, and THON organization members work hard all year and this one night is a chance to let go and have fun watching your friends be silly on stage while also continuing to work towards the goal of finding a cure for pediatric cancer.”
To email reporter: klg5434@psu.edu
