Arts Fest Posters Available Now

Posters are one of the most collectible items for numerous types of events.

Some arts festivals hire ad agencies to do the posters and some pick their best of show winner to do the illustration for the poster.

At the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, local and award-winning artist Lanny Sommese, a Penn State professor of visual arts, has designed the poster since 1974.

The 39th poster designed by Sommese features a green cat licking a strawberry ice cream cone. On the end of his tail is the pink paint used to give the details about the festival. Arts Fest is set for July 11-15.

Sommese holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Florida and earned his MFA Degree at the University of Illinois. He is currently a distinguished professor and head of graphic design in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State, where he is also a Fellow of the Institute for Arts and Humanistic Studies.

He is an honorary member of The University and College Designers Association, a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and was recently selected as the AIGA Philadelphia 2010 Fellow. His 2010 CPFA poster was a winner in the Sunshine Artist magazine art festival poster contest.

2012 Festival posters were made possible by sponsorship from the Central Pennsylvania Convention & Visitors Bureau and are available for free at the following locations: Penn State Federal Credit Union, 1937 North Atherton St., HUB Desk, University Park Campus; Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800 Park Ave., Mifflin/Juniata Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1 West Market Street, Lewistown; Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, 403 S. Allen St., Suite 205A.

Limited quantities of vintage Festival posters are also available for sale. Not all years are available. Posters are printed on heavy stock and are 24 inches wide by 36 inches high. Vintage posters are $10 each, plus $5 for shipping and handling. Please contact the festival office at (814) 237-3682 for more information.