The annual “homegrown festival” in Central Pennsylvania, the People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania, has returned for another fun-filled weekend. After 31 years as a staple of Centre County’s festival week, the event is still focused on showcasing and supporting Pennsylvanian artists and vendors.
Located at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall, the festival kicked off on Thursday, July 10 and will wrap up Sunday, July 13. Each day of the festival, doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., except Sunday when it ends at 4 p.m.
“This is our 31st year, and our fourth year here at the new location,” marketing & sponsorship director Diana Stapleford said. “We are still the same festival. We have amazing quality art from all over Pennsylvania. The music is continuous. We have many wineries and distilleries that are on the east side of the festival. We have an extensive kids area…
“There’s really something for the entire family here. We all have such a passion for this festival, and it means a lot to the community. We’ve had to make some adjustments, and things are really growing back to where they were.”
After decades at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, the festival has been at Grange Park since 2022. Festival organizers will direct vehicles to available parking spots at 149 Homan Lane, which is the entrance to the fairgrounds.
People’s Choice exclusively features musicians and artisans from Pennsylvania. This year’s festival is anticipated to feature almost 200 artists and merchants who will showcase and sell their crafts.
“We have our regulars that have been here with us for years, and then we try to build upon that”, Stapleford said. “Most of the artist area, the food area, we just try to switch the festival up just a little bit to make it fresh every day. Throughout the whole festival, we have over 120 artists and vendors…It really gives you a full four days to just have some fun in Centre County.”
On the east and west sides of the fairgrounds are two food courts with 18 food vendors that are listed on the People’s Choice website. Local favorites including Clem’s BBQ, Rosie’s Pierogies, Scott’s Roasting, Inside Out Cookie and Idou Coffee Company are among the many choices, along with a variety of carnival food from Snyder Concessions.
This year, for the first time, festival organizers added several engaging, family-friendly activities to the roster, including a kids coloring contest, a water slide along with several other inflatables, and a special Christmas-themed interactive exhibit, featuring snow, a visit from Santa and even Buddy the Elf.
“This year, we’re doing something very special called ‘Christmas in July,’ and that entails snow. It’ll be snowing on the east end of the festival throughout the weekend,” Stapleford said.
Throughout the weekend, festival-goers may notice a slightly updated feature involving the chance for them to get to know artists while working on their designs right before their eyes with artist demonstrations.
“We were originally going to be down in a little building, but we talked to the people that are running the show, and we decided to put the signs at the booths where the artists are actually doing demos instead,” woodwork artist and co-owner of RanaeArt & Friends Dave Borden said. “This invites you in, so I think they’re really pushing that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s further expanded even into next year. It’s the first year they’re doing this.”
Borden, and his wife, Ranae, joined the festival’s lineup of artists a few years back and are looking forward to the opportunity to show off their work while getting to know members of the Centre County community, along with some faces from out of town.
“This festival was highly recommended to us, and we kept coming,” Dave Borden said. “We enjoy it. It’s really good. I highly recommend vendors to apply. And if you’re a local, I’d recommend you come. There’ve been people traveling as far away as Maryland, Jersey that I’ve talked to here, so it’s worth the travel, too, for the people that want to come and have some fun.”
To get a sneak peak at this year’s artists and filter between mediums and categories, such as jewelry, photography and wood-based products, to name a few, check out peopleschoicefestival.com/art.
