The second annual Officers Down 5K & Community Day in Lehighton takes place Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 243 S. Eighth St.

The event celebrates the police officers who serve our country on a daily basis, and recognizes those who have fallen protecting the communities in which we live.It will benefit the Lehighton Police Department, Bethlehem FOP Lodge 20, and Hounds on Working Leashes.Race time is 10 a.m. The cost is $45 per runner, plus a $3 sign-up fee.There will also be a 1-mile walk, at a cost of $25, plus a $2.50 sign up fee; at 10 a.m., a half-mile kids fun run, at a cost of $20, plus a $2.50 sign up fee, at 9:30 a.m.; and a Virtual 5K runner/walker, at a cost of $30, plus a $2.50 sign up fee, at 9:30 a.m.As part of the activities, the Allentown Police Department K-9 Unit will present a K-9 demonstration at around 11:15 a.m. K-9 officer Jonathan Smith and partner K-9 Django will join in on the fun, while patrolman Stephen James will wear a bite suit during the presentation.A community day has been added to the event, and will include lunch, live music from The Tavern Dogs Band and DJ Layne Doc, inflatable bouncers, activities and more.Packet pickup will be held at the Lehighton Recreation Center from 5-8 p.m. today and from 3-6 p.m. Friday.Events director T.J. Burke founded the Officers Down 5K in 2011, two years after he began his law enforcement career in 2009.Burke said he wanted to bring the community together to support those in blue rather than wait until an officer was killed in the line of duty."We're not getting together for one fallen officer," Burke said. "We're bringing the community together on just a day to celebrate those who serve."Event manager Nikki Nothstein said she wanted to bring the event to the area because it is personal to her on many levels.Nothstein's husband is a local full-time police officer who participates in an annual ride to benefit fallen officers, which terminates in Washington, D.C. during National Police Week.Burke praised Nothstein for her efforts in helping to organize the event in Lehighton."It's amazing that she's the local event coordinator," he said. "I just give her a special shout out in assisting us to make this event happen."