Skiers, snowboarders and supporters will gather from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday for the 5th annual Carve 4 Cancer Winter Sports and Music Festival at Blue Mountain Resort in Palmerton.

This charity festival raises funds for blood cancer research and financial assistance for local cancer patients. In addition to dollars raised, Carve 4 Cancer also raises awareness and provides a way to give back while having fun.

Brent P. Evans, of Wilkes-Barre, created the Carve 4 Cancer charity in 2012, following his first round of a two-year battle with the stage IV hepatoslpenic t-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The disease came back for a second time in 2016, and the founder passed away due to complications in July 2017.

While this will be the first Carve 4 Cancer event without Evans, his dedicated team of volunteers has been planning and doing everything in their power to make this year’s event more impressive and ambitious than ever. Over the past five years, the event has quickly become a premier winter festival, meshing skiing and snowboarding with the fight against cancer.

From an impressive mix of live music to snow sport competitions, there are plenty of reasons to attend this incredible day at Blue Mountain Resort.

• It’s free: This all-day event is 100 percent free to the public. Attendees have access to the vendor village, Best Trick competition, auction, raffle, live music, art demos and much more. The vendor village will include Milwaukee Tool, Yards Brewing Company, Gilson, SkiBonez, Snowvibes, Luke Shades, Wahoo’s Tacos & More, till I die, Hank’s Sauce, Jerky Jams, and Saint Luke’s Cancer Center. Lift tickets will be on sale for those who choose to take to the slopes, and a portion of all ticket sales will be donated to the cause.

• Talent: The winter festival will be emceed by The Chris Gethard Show’s very own Murf Meyer. There will also be graffiti artists on the snow displaying their talent and tribute to the event with an art installation. Also on the snow is the Best Trick Competition, sponsored by Philadelphia’s Wahoo’s Tacos & More, which draws talent from across the region in Men’s, Women’s and Grom’s (youth) divisions. In addition to a lot of gear awarded to the lucky winners, there’s $1,000 worth of cash at stake. Lastly, guests will enjoy a music lineup that will include Fake Flowers Real Dirt, DJ Dre Ovalle, The Still, Small Voice, Stella Ruze, Suze, Jay D Clark, Justin Trawick and the Common Good, Sophistafunk, Mr. Green, Big Mean Sound Machine, and the headliner of the evening: Lawrence, an eight-piece band straight out of New York City.

• It’s for a great cause: Carve 4 Cancer was designed to increase awareness of and raise research funds for blood cancers. The Carve 4 Cancer team is made up of unpaid, dedicated volunteers, so every dollar donated will go to furthering the Carve 4 Cancer mission. The organization’s recent partnership with St. Luke’s Cancer Center ensures a portion of the funds raised at the event will benefit those in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding communities.

• Yards Brewing Company and Tito’s Handmade Vodka will be at the mountain to keep the party going. When Yard’s partnered with the nonprofit, the result was Carve 4 Cancer’s very own beer, Uncle Brent’s Brew. A portion of the proceeds from every pint sold of this ale will be donated back to the cause. Additionally, the nonprofit’s specialty Tito’s cocktail, the “Carve Crush”, will also have a portion of the proceeds donated back to the cause. In addition to these specialty drinks in the lodge, there will be games, merchandise for sale, and an auction with trips & getaways, ski and snowboard gear, and more.

Carve 4 Cancer (https://www.carve4cancer.com) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit dedicated to the mission of shredding blood cancers through extreme sports events and fundraising.

For more information, visit the event page online at www.carve4cancer.com/festival, or go to skibluemt.com for more details.