Longtime Arts Festival Director to Step Down, Search Underway

After decades of service, Rick Bryant, the longtime director of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, is planning to step down next year.

Bryant will officially retire from the organization at the end of January, he announced this week. He said in a statement that he’s confident the organization’s next leader will continue the festival’s legacy in central Pennsylvania.

“I love my job, but now it’s time to let someone else run the show,” Bryant wrote. “We have a great team of paid staff and volunteers, so there’s a firm foundation for my successor to build upon.”

A volunteer as far back as the mid-1980s, Bryant first joined the festival’s paid staff in 1999 and became the Arts Festival’s executive director in 2005. In a statement, the organization’s leaders said Bryant’s impact goes far beyond a yearly festival.

“Rick has been the driving force, the connector and the person at the helm of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and First Night for 18 years”, said Renata Engel, president of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts board of directors. “The joy, music and art that he has brought to this community have been mainstays and a point of pride. We are grateful for his commitment and the foundation he established on which we will continue to build.”

The festival’s board of directors is currently working on a national search to find Bryant’s successor. Plans call for the next executive director to begin working as soon as this winter.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts executive director is ultimately responsible for the planning and execution of the organization’s namesake summer festival, as well as its New Year’s celebration, First Night State College. The ideal candidate, the organization said, is someone with strong organizational and leadership skills who’s previously served with a major volunteer or community organization.

A full job description, including the role’s specific qualifications, is available on the organization’s website. Applicants should send a resume and list of references to humanresources@arts-festival.com. The organization will begin considering applications in November, according to the job posting.

“The festival’s next director has a solid foundation to build upon,” Bryant wrote in a blog post. “If you (or someone you know) are passionate about community, the arts, don’t mind hard work, and like throwing a party, you should consider applying. It’s a great gig.”

When reflecting on his time leading the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Bryant recalled fond memories of the annual festival throughout the years. What began as casual community service blossomed into a career he never thought possible, he said. But now, with decades of service under his belt, Bryant says he’s finally ready to enjoy the festival from the other side.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of the Festival audience next July to see — and hear — the wonderful things the new team will have in store for us,” Bryant wrote. “I hope you are, too!”

The Arts Festival returned in person this summer for the first time since 2019. The 56-year-old festival brings hundreds of artists from across the country to State College each summer for a four-day-long celebration of art and music.

For more information about the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, and its search for a new executive director, visit the organization’s website.