THON™ Family Carnival

The THON™ Family Carnival is a highly anticipated event among THON volunteers, providing them with the opportunity to interact with Four Diamonds children and families before THON weekend. 

This year, the event was held on Sunday, December 9 in the White Building. The theme was “Lifetime of Adventure,” encapsulating one of THON’s main goals to provide children with a life full of adventure.  

With roughly two months separating THON Family Carnival from THON weekend, the day provided the perfect reprieve for THON volunteers to interact with the children. The event is an opportunity for Four Diamonds families to spend time with THON volunteers and for volunteers to see their hard work fulfilled by the laughs and smiles of the children.  

THON committees and organizations participating in THON set up booths for the children to play a variety of games, including Jenga, ring toss and craft making. The booths were decorated with different themes as well, such as the jungle, beach and space.   

Across the center of the floor, children had space to play games with THON volunteers. At one point during the day there was even a hula-hoop contest! The crowd was constantly entertained by speakers on stage announcing new activities to ensure all the children and families were included in the fun. 

Activities on stage included family karaoke, last year’s line dance and a THON family speaker. The final activity was a pep-rally, complete with Penn State cheerleaders, the Lionettes and the Nittany Lion.  

The day concluded with the THON 2020 logo reveal – an orange planet with two children standing on the planet’s rings, a design created by Andrea Hinkle to capture the magic of this year’s theme “Journey Together.”