Starting at 7 p.m. Friday night there will be music emanating from the Memorial Union for 18 hours straight'courtesy of the Dance Marathon.
Organizers said the marathon will raise money for three pediatric foundations: the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Camp Heartland'an organization benefiting children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and the UW Children's Hospital.
According to UW-Madison senior Heidi Chuckel, Dance Marathon's coordinator of public relations and advertising, there will be bands including the Madhatters and Deals Gone Bad performing from 10 p.m. to midnight. DJ's will begin spinning around 2 a.m. Other events, such as games and karaoke will also be planned in coordination with the dancing. Mike of MTV's tenth-season \The Real World"" will host the event.
""For the most part we found these bands through connections of people we know or because we had seen them before,"" said UW-Madison junior Cory Erickson, entertainment chair for the event. ""Most of the bands chose to donate their fee and are playing as volunteers for the event.""
Spectators are welcome to stop by and take part in the event by either just enjoying the live entertainment or cheering on the participants, Erickson said. Although a three-dollar donation is suggested, the event is free of cost.
""Spectators are encouraged to attend the event because basically it's a free concert,"" Erickson said.
Many Big Ten schools have been involved with dance marathons for years, but this is only the second year UW-Madison. Most of the schools choose to benefit two national foundations and one local one.
""I'm not sure why it took us so long to get involved with this event considering the founders of the EGPAF and Camp Heartland are both UW-Madison alumni,"" Chuckel said.
Nationally, the marathons have become the largest student-run event of their kind.
According to Jake Strand, Dance Marathon executive co-chair and UW-Madison senior, each individual dancer raised money through donations by family, friends and anyone else they could find. Last year there was a fund-raising limit of $180, but that limit was lifted this year.
In addition, last year's marathon raised roughly $24,000 with more than 200 participants. According to Strand, approximately 100 dancers are currently signed up to participate in this year's event.
""Last year it seemed like it was easier to get donations for things such as food,"" Chuckel said. ""This year there were more overhead costs to deal with which may take out a slice of what we raise. However, we're not too concerned.""
