Arts Fest is back in State College. Here’s your guide to parking, music, food and more

Bret Pallotto

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is one of the largest summer festivals in Pennsylvania, typically drawing about 125,000 people to Happy Valley.

This summer marks the return of the longtime festival after a two-year absence because of the coronavirus pandemic. Arts Fest, which was founded in 1967 and has gone on nearly every year since, is scheduled for July 13-17.

Whether it’s your first time visiting or you’re trying to knock off the rust, here are some of the basics.

How to get there

Downtown State College has four parking garages: 200 W. Beaver Ave., 135 S. Fraser St., 132 McAllister St. and 126 S. Pugh St. The hourly rate is $2.25 per hour during the festival. The maximum daily rate is $32.

There are parking lots at 233 S. Allen St. and 100 W. Beaver Ave., as well as on-street parking.

Visitors can also park at Penn State’s West Parking Deck along White Course Drive. Parking is $1 per hour for the first two hours and $10 for between two and 10 hours. Cash and credit cards are accepted.

A free bus service is scheduled to serve as a shuttle from the parking garage to the intersection of East College Avenue and South Allen Street. The service is scheduled to be available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The festival is an about 10-minute walk from the parking garage.

Art is the star of the show

More than 300 exhibitors from about 40 states typically sell their work at the festival. Among the categories that are offered:

  • Ceramics

  • Metal

  • Painting

  • Glass

  • Jewelry

  • Paper

  • Watercolor

  • Photography

  • Fiber

  • Leather

  • Drawing

  • Wood

  • Digital art

  • Musical instruments

  • Sculpture

  • Printmaking

  • Basketry

There’s also a banner competition, an event that allows young artists to sell their work and street painting.

Grabbing a bit to eat

More than a dozen food vendors are scheduled to set up shop in the borough. Some are Centre County staples, while others are set to visit from Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Virginia.

South Allen Street and West Calder Way

  • Miller’s Tropical Sno

  • The Tuckerbox

South Allen Street and Highland Alley

  • Chan’s Golden Gate

Memorial Field parking lot

  • Bonnie Blue’s Smokeys and Sweets

  • Brazilian Munchies

  • Everything about Crepes

  • Funnel Cake Kings

  • Hellenic Kouzina Mobile Kitchen

South Allen Street and West Nittany Avenue

  • Backwoods Smoke Shack

  • Heeter’s Ice Cream Truck

  • We Be Cheesin’

Sidney Friedman Park

  • Hanson’s Kettle Korn

  • Maine Bay & Berry

University Park

  • Penn State Berkey Creamery

  • The Rolling Lion Food Truck

Something to wash it down

Beer, wine and cider are coming to the festival for the first time.

Arts Fest and the Central PA Tasting Trail are working in tandem to set up a short-term gated area that intends to sell alcohol, both for consumption only within that area and to take home in the form of bottles, cans and growlers. No public drinking is permitted outside of the gated area, which will be located within the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on South Fraser Street.

Alcohol is set to be sold from noon to 6 p.m. July 14-16.

All 14 of the Tasting Trail’s members intend to participate. The nonprofit’s members include: Axemann Brewery, Barrel 21 Distillery, Big Spring Spirits, Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks, Good Intent Cidery, Happy Valley Vineyard & Winery, J.L. Farm & Cidery 814 Cider Works, Keewaydin Cider Mill, Mt. Nittany Vineyard & Winery, Otto’s Pub And Brewery, Pisano Winery, Robin Hood Brewing Co., Seven Mountains Wine Cellars and University Wine Company.

Other options include Bees Knees Coffee at the Memorial Field parking lot and Moody Culture Kombucha at the intersection of South Allen Street and West Nittany Avenue.

Water bottles are available for $1 at any of the festival’s four information booths.

Music in the streets

There’s a musical performance on nearly every block. Some are old favorites, others are new performers looking to establish themselves. And there’s no shortage of musical styles.

Top outdoor venues include the Festival Shell on the lawn of Old Main, the Allen Street Stage and the Sydney Friedman Park Stage. Smaller acts are scheduled to perform at outdoor plazas.

Those that prefer the comfort of an indoor show can visit The State Theatre, the State College Presbyterian Church and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

Admission for most shows will be by a $15 festival wristband. They’re available at the venues and more than a dozen locations in the Centre Region and Bellefonte.

Jazz, bluegrass, folk, rock, concert bands, choral groups, musical theater, dance and comedy are among the more than 80 scheduled performances.

How the festival was started

The festival was founded in 1967, when Beaver Stadium had a capacity of about 46,000 and three years before Interstate 80 was completed in Pennsylvania.

The State College Chamber of Commerce — now the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County — and Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture hatched the idea. Organizers hoped to boost business during the summer in downtown State College when fewer students were at University Park.

The first festival lasted nine days. A range of artwork was offered; one vendor even sold kittens.

The festival now operates with year-round with a full-time staff, a volunteer board of directors and more than 500 volunteers.

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