The annual Central PA 4th Fest returned to State College on Friday with a full of slate of activities and traditions, creating yet another memorable Independence Day for the Centre County community.
The festival had several new features this year, including more vendors, new live entertainment and even a baby race. With a budget of more than $275,000, the day met its goals by providing a community-oriented environment for all ages to participate in and celebrate the nation’s birthday.
Central PA 4th Fest as it’s known today originated in 2001 but continues a tradition of Independence Day celebrations in State College dating back nearly a century. Over the years 4th Fest has grown and changed, but rising costs and declining volunteers present challenges.
“We have a very expensive footprint to protect the safety of our people and to provide the services they need,” Celesta Powell, 4th Fest executive director, said. “…We also have that volunteerism in our community and everywhere else has declined rapidly. So I don’t always think that this is just [about] an investment in our event – I think this is what we see everywhere and it becomes incredibly harder and harder to do this event. So we are happy that we are able to continue what we have this year, and you know, we’ll see what it looks like for the upcoming years.”
The fun-packed day started with the Firecracker 4K, which had record-high participation with more than 1,000 runners and walkers. Reaching its two-decade mark last year, the race was started in 2002 by Centre County native Nancy Silvis and has been led by Danny Myers for the past 15 years.
The 2.5-mile course, which kicked off at approximately 9 a.m., and saw its last participant cross the finish line close to 10 a.m., took runners and walkers through the parts of Penn State campus. Finishers were met with sporadic cheers from a crowd of both fellow runners and spectators and the race ended with an award ceremony on Curtin Road, right in front of Beaver Stadium.
Shortly after the race, thousands gathered along College Avenue to enjoy the festival’s highly-anticipated parade, featuring local businesses, leaders, organizations and performances, including an impromptu concert by an Altoona marching band directly following the parade.
From noon to 5 p.m., antique and rare vehicles were on display at the second annual 4th Fest car show. Visitors had the chance to cast their votes for their preferred vehicle and the show concluded with an awards ceremony
Other entertainment throughout the day included BMX stunt shows by Dialed Action Sports, lumberjack demonstrations, Kids Kingdom with a variety of children’s activities, live music, birthday cake and more.
Each year, the nationally-renowned half-hour fireworks show concludes the jam-packed day of engaging events. This year was no different, as the show ended with a bang in a colorful display lighting up the sky over the area of Medlar Field.
Multiple news outlets and travel blogs have ranked 4th Fest’s fireworks display among the nation’s top five “biggest,” and “best” Independence Day fireworks shows over the years. The show, which is entirely produced by and for the community, did not disappoint.
There are opportunities for members of the community to get involved with 4th Fest behind the scenes. The event thrives thanks to its team of volunteers, and the festival’s organizers continue to look for more to get involved each year.
“Just like everything, you have to figure out what your community will support. And for decades, we have said the Central PA 4th Fest is only and can only be what the community supports,” Powell said.
Those interested in getting involved with the 2026 Central PA 4th Fest can contact Powell at centralpa4thfest@gmail.com.
