The 59th annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has been in full swing since Wednesday, with thousands of community members, Penn Staters and visitors coming together to enjoy the atmosphere in downtown State College and on campus during a mostly sunny and warm week.
As vendor tents line the sidewalks and live music entertains festival goers, downtown State College is alive with color and activity .
Year after year, Arts Fest has drawn performers and artists from across the country to State College since its establishment in the late 1960s. With over 100,000 annual attendees and numerous out-of-town and out-of-state vendors and exhibitors, the festival has grown into a national draw over the course of nearly 60 years.
According to festival organizers, this year’s attendance rate is on its way to surpass that of previous years, making the annual week of events an even bigger hit.
With the festival reaching its halfway mark, the live entertainment, the art and the various food vendors continue to create a memorable and celebratory festival weekend in State College.
In the midst of the engaging, hands-on festivities throughout the weekend, two groups of people have been working hard to make this year’s festival bigger than ever: the artists and the Arts Fest volunteers.
State College resident of over 50 years and Arts Fest volunteer Rosalie Bailey has been helping out at the T-shirt booth on Allen Street for the past three years. She noted that despite recent campus construction, attendance remains strong.
“It’s interesting because of all of the construction that’s going on on campus, I thought it might have an impact, but clearly it has not,” Bailey said. “There are the same amount of people, and they seem to be enjoying themselves. The entertainment is great, as usual. The folks that put this together are amazing people, and it’s an office of three that does all this. You would never guess that, seeing how it’s all put together and set up.”
Each year, Bailey is given the opportunity to meet and greet thousands of guests of all ages, making her even more passionate about returning as a volunteer.
“You get to meet new people; you get to see old friends,” Bailey said. “The children are exciting, and it’s just a great time to interact with townspeople and people from out of town that sometimes, for some folks, it’s their first visit to the Arts Fest.”
One the best parts of the weekend for Bailey is the activities, both new and old, that allow children and families to be a part of the action, while enjoying everything else the festival has to offer.
“I like the fact that they cater a lot to children with the Children’s Day that they’ve had now for several years, and the activities for the children because everybody thinks of it as an adult thing but it’s really as much for the kids, too,” she said.
Former Arts Fest 2023 intern and current volunteer Celine Matthews has been involved for three years, starting from her senior year of high school. Initially contacted by festival director Pam Snyder, Matthews’ role involves coordinating with artists, handling paperwork, organizing volunteers and assisting in various roles during the festival
“A lot of it is coordinating with the artists, doing a lot of paperwork, keeping records of who’s going where, laying out the map design, creating the booklets,” Matthews explained. “Each year at Arts Festival, since Pam took over [in 2023], you could see the shift there. And every single year, we get suggestions, and we try to make them work. This is one of our biggest crowds ever — it’s been around 300,000 people this year. It’s probably gonna be a bit more than that.
Matthews has been coming to Arts Fest since she was 4 or five years old, she said, and as she’s gotten older, she realizes that this event is her true calling – one that feels close to home.
“Working with the artists, we try to advocate for them, because they are what this festival is about, and we want them to come back, and we reserve spots for the old ones, but we also reserve spots for newcomers,” Matthews said. “So it’s a big community that we’re looking to grow each year.”
Hailing from Naples, Florida, contemporary pop artist Andee Axe is entering her third year as a vendor. Although Central PA wasn’t her typical exhibit scene, once she started selling her self-proclaimed “wow art” during the festival, she knew she would be back.
“I normally only go to shows that are near the ocean, but this show resonates with me,” Axe said. “I’m a Pennsylvania person; my brother went to school here. I like that it’s four days, and we come up, we have a good time. It’s just so pretty, and so we make a fun time of it.”
Local jewelry artisan Renee Ziegler is experiencing her very first time as a vendor, gaining exposure beyond her typical State College area pull.
“I applied for the first time this year, and I’m surprised to get in,” Ziegler shared. “I teach jewelry making at The Rivet on North Atherton Street. It’s an educational nonprofit and maker space that’s attached to the Discovery Space, so I’ve been exhibiting my work and selling it for about five years.”
Living in State College for roughly 35 years, Ziegler’s passion for community has now been extended, giving her the opportunity to show off her designs and pieces to much larger crowds. Over the years, many locals and peers have wondered if Ziegler would ever consider being a part of the nationally-ranked art show.
“Whenever I told people that I made jewelry, the first question that I got from locals was, ‘Do you exhibit at Arts Fest?,” she said. “Locally, to say that you’ve been in Arts Fest is kind of a sign that you’re serious…Not every town this size has a nationally ranked show, so they don’t realize when they’re asking that question what it takes to get into the show.”
The annual Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition is open until 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 13 across downtown State College and campus. Check out the final days of Arts Fest’s activities and stop by local and national artists’ booths to purchase some unique gifts and artwork.
