For the next 46 hours, State College officially has a new name.

Ezra Nanes, mayor of the State College Borough, officially announced the name change Friday night, as dancers awaited their instruction to stand. The name announcement marks the most recent continuation of a tradition that began in 2015.

“From this moment forward, State College is now called the City of THON,” Nanes said. “This weekend, this town is your town. This town belongs to our Four Diamonds families.”

“From this moment, we are united in our efforts to bring love and support to children and families impacted by childhood cancer,” continued Nanes. “So dancers, I admire you. You are our heroes this weekend. I wish you good luck.”

Dancers will begin standing at 6 p.m. – in just under one hour. You can follow along with all of Onward State’s THON 2023 coverage by checking out our Live Blog or our THON Weekend cheat sheet.