The 26th annual Communithon, which will be taking place on the new dates of Friday, Oct. 19, and Saturday, Oct. 20, will be held this year at the Weyburn Comprehensive School Cafetorium, it was announced at the kickoff luncheon to this year's campaign held on Monday at the Knox Hall.

With the Weyburn United Way Communithon growing larger and larger, this year's event will mark the first time it will not be held at the Royal Canadian Legion hall. It will now permanently be held at the Cafetorium.

"We were getting way too crowded and the Cafetorium has more space. The Legion has been wonderful to us in the past though," said Communithon chairperson Arlene Geisler.

The board of directors for the United Way also felt that the Cafetorium has more stage room and will be more accessible for those who are disabled.

Moving to the Cafetorium will offer a few challenges as well since the Communithon has never been held anywhere but the Legion.

"In the Legion, it was routine. Now we need to look at where to put the audience and where we can set up the cameras," said Weyburn United Way president Gary Erickson. He added that, on the other hand, some sound and lighting equipment are already in place at the Comp.

Parking was also a concern that the board had discussed before making the decision. They decided that during school hours parking will be difficult, but after that it shouldn't be any worse than if the event was held downtown.

Lady Charity and Captain United were named at the luncheon, and are the same couple as last year, Melissa Hoffman and Dalton Mainil. They will make appearances throughout the campaign leading up to and including the Communithon event.

"It was so much fun last year that after last year's event I promised to come back," said Mainil.

"I'm staying a year to go to college and I was going to help the coordinator Ruth Barker and the committee. When they were looking for Captain United and Lady Charity, they said let's get Dalton and me back," said Hoffman.

The first event that Captain United and Lady Charity will be working on is a Communithon poster contest for all of the local schools.

The theme for this year's Communithon is "Let's Work Together," and the monetary goal is to raise $122,007. Anyone interest in performing can contact any of the United Way board members.

The 15 member agencies that the United Way supports include the Saskatchewan Abilities Council, the Canadian Paraplegic Association, Weyburn Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Arthritis Society, the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Victorian Order of Nurses, Weyburn and Area Supportive Employment Services, Canadian Red Cross, the Violence Intervention Program, the Weyburn Care-A-Van Society, the Weyburn Special Care Home, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the South Saskatchewan Chapter of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Weyburn and Area Early Childhood Intervention Program and the Alzheimer Family Support Group.

Last year the Communithon celebrated their 25th anniversary where they exceeded their goal of $120,025 on the air. In total, last year's campaign raised about $123,000 for their member agencies.