Festival week in Centre County brought another boost to the local tourism industry with increased visitations for two major events.
Marking its 60th year, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College was once again the biggest draw with 163,700 visits from July 8-12, an 8% increase over 2025, according to data collected by the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau using cell phone technology to track visitations. Unique visitors totaled 96,100, a 7% increase, and about 60% traveled more than 50 miles to attend.
But it was the People’s Choice Festival that saw eye-popping growth in its return to its traditional home at Pennsylvania Military Museum Grounds in Boalsburg after four years at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall.
People’s Choice had 17,200 visits over its four days from July 9-12, a massive 760% increase over the 2,000 visits it had in 2025 at Grange Park. Among those visits, 15,800 were unique visitors, a 1,336% increase over 2025’s 1,100. About 20% traveled from farther than 50 miles.
Eric Engelbarts, president and CEO of the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, said it’s apparent the Boalsburg location and its proximity to the Arts Festival in State College make a difference.
“I think it just validates what everyone was thinking: that while we love Grange Fair and all the amenities and everything that they offer there, people just wanted to be connected downtown, where all the activity was going on with Festival of the Arts,” Engelbarts said. “If they’re in town for Arts Fest, to be able to pop over to Boalsburg and go to the People’s Choice, it made it a lot easier to do. Plus, there were shuttles running between the two events as well, so you could theoretically park in one spot and then see both events, which was super cool.”
The third festival in what HVAB marketed as “Big Arts Week,” Art in the Orchard at Way Fruit Farm celebrated its sixth year with about 4,300 visitors, nearly the same as 2025. That was despite a torrential storm on July 10 that disrupted activities around the area, including one day of the shorter three-day festival in Port Matilda.
Centre County’s lodging industry saw a spike in bookings that accompanied the attendance growth for the festivals, as well as two new hotels that came on line in the last year, Avid/Candlewood Suites and Tru by Hilton, both in Benner Township.
Lodging demand increased by 36% for festival week, compared to the same time last year.
“Anytime you see attendance go up year after year, you have to be excited about that,” Engelbarts said.
HVAB expects to put more resources into marketing Big Arts Week next year, he said, adding that the success of the events is due to the work of many, particularly volunteers.
Moving People’s Choice back to Boalsburg took the effort of the volunteers who run the festival, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which owns the military museum, local officials and neighboring partners like the Boal Mansion Museum, which offered overflow parking, Engelbarts said.
“It’s so important that this is volunteer driven,” Engelbarts said. “With People’s Choice, this is not somebody’s full time job. They’re doing it after hours, and they’re putting all this time and effort into it and to see it pay off, that’s the ultimate win. It’s just seeing the smiles on the people’s faces, even though they’re dog tired after the event. But if you’re going to put all the work into it, you want as many people to show up and enjoy the event.”
It was the festival’s first time back in Boalsburg since 2019. Following two years of cancelations due to COVID-19, People’s Choice moved to Grange Park in 2022 after museum officials expressed concerns that the festival had outgrown its longtime home in Boalsburg and did not offer a long-term contract.
But with the logistics worked out for the return this year, organizers and vendors were roundly happy to be back in Boalsburg.
“I think that over here in Boalsburg because people were used to coming here, and you can see it from the road, and it has that festival atmosphere, everybody is excited and in a good mood,” volunteer coordinator and publicity director Amy Madison said during the festival. “They’re glad we’re here, and they love being back. The Grange did have advantages, so we don’t want to say that it didn’t, but overall, the community really appreciates it being here.”
Evan Halfen contributed to this report.
