Belhaven will get down and dirty for the 32^nd year in a row with the Pantego Mud Run on Saturday.

The event starts at 1:30 p.m., but gates open at 9 a.m. for those who want to get up close and personal with the mud and the many vehicles hoping to sling their way through the pit.

The popular fundraiser helps defray costs for new equipment, maintenance and day-to-day operations for the Pantego Volunteer Fire Department, and it gives the community a good time and the opportunity to pitch in.

“It’s a lot of entertainment value,” said Pantego Volunteer Fire Department’s Capt. Derrick Myers.

The squad and helpers have spent the week preparing for the event, building a four-foot deep mud hole. It’s an art form that they’ve spent 32 years perfecting.

“We don’t want it too soupy and we don’t want it too dry. We want it right in the middle,” Myers said.

That’s because four classes of vehicles, each with a 30-vehicle limit, will be skating, slicing and sinking through the mud Saturday. Payout for winners approaches $2,000, all of it raised through event sponsorships, Myers said. Ticket sales, entry fees and raffle proceeds go to the fire department. This year, in addition to a 50/50 raffle, the item to be raffled off is a 10-kw generator.

The competition draws drivers from across the state, Virginia and South Carolina. On the local level, father and son duo Bonner and Michael Allen, both firefighters with Pantego VFD, are also slated to compete. Drivers have the option to make their runs with a tow cable attached or chance it — if a driver gets stuck in the mud without the cable, he’ll have wade through the mire to attach it, rather than simply let the onsite tractor pull the stuck vehicle out.

Myers said watching the drama unfold is fun for both adults and children.

The Pantego Mud Run is located on fire department-owned property next to Paul Service Center, 28224 U.S. Highway 264 East, Belhaven. The event has a strict no-alcohol policy. Tickets are $10.