This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
BOALSBURG — There are places where festivals happen and then there are places where festivals belong.
For the People’s Choice Festival, that place has always been Boalsburg. And after several years away, the long-running arts celebration is coming home July 9 through July 12.
“The past three years, our attendance had dropped. There’s no question about it,” said John Madison, co-director of the People’s Choice Festival, reflecting on the festival’s recent years at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall.
“We’re not getting the crowd out there. I think it’s caused us to lose artisans. Another reason we’ve lost artisans is we had a lot of older artisans in our group. A lot of them are retiring. So we’re losing artists, we’re losing food vendors because we’re not getting the crowds out there. That is the biggest reason to move back to Boalsburg, to try to rejuvenate this festival and get the community interested again.”
For Madison and marketing and sponsorship Director Diana Stapleford, the decision to return to the Pennsylvania Military Museum grounds in Boalsburg was about returning home.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled we are to be going back,” Stapleford said of the return to Boalsburg. “And honestly, this is going to take the community to help bring this festival back.”
Madison described the original setting as something deeper than convenience.
“It was a place where people went to unite, reunite with friends and gather,” he said. “It was a homey feeling out there.”
People’s Choice moved to the Grange Fairgrounds in 2022 after spending its first 28 years in Boalsburg. At the time the, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which operates the Military Museum, said the festival had outgrown the property and festival organizers turned down contract to host it there that year because “new circumstances make staying at the museum untenable.”
Negotiating the return wasn’t simple. There was little time to rebuild logistics and festival organizers also had to deal with rising costs to stage the event.
The festival plans to offset some of the added cost through parking, expected to be about $10 per vehicle, with parking available near the Boal Mansion and potential shuttle options currently under discussion. Madison said the price is consistent with similar arts festivals and downtown parking rates.
Early signs suggest the move back to Boalsburg is already paying dividends.
“So far, yes,” Stapleford said when asked if sponsors and artists have responded. Longtime sponsor REMAX Centre Realty has returned as an official sponsor along with Duffy’s Tavern and WYS Design are also among sponsors on board.
More striking is the artists’ response. Stapleford said about 107 artists have already signed on, with applications extended through the end of March.
“We’re going to have some beautiful photography, glass, stained glass, pottery, fiber art, jewelry, clothing,” Madison said. “Music all four days.”
While band names haven’t been announced yet, Stapleford said the music lineup is finalized.
The festival, which began in 1993, once featured as many as 160 to 170 artists. Madison and Stapleford see this year as a reset rather than a full return to scale.
“As far as expanding the festival, we’re obviously bringing it back and we’re in a growth mode,” Stapleford said. “We want to bring it back to where it was.”
Community reaction, they say, has been overwhelming.
“Unbelievable,” Stapleford said with a smile. “When people hear we’re coming back, it’s like, ‘You’re coming home!’”
Support has also come from fellow events, including collaboration with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, a relationship Madison describes as essential rather than competitive.
“We should be supporting each other for the benefit of the community,” Madison said. “I’ve always said I thought the festivals worked well together.”
Beyond culture, the festival carries real economic weight. Madison said the People’s Choice Festival alone fills more than 200 hotel rooms with artisans, not counting visitors who travel in groups with many staying multiple nights.
“It brings hundreds of thousands of dollars into this community every year,” he said.
Still, challenges remain. The festival is seeking donations, sponsors and volunteers. Parking lot attendants, artisan booth setters, information booth volunteers and trash removal volunteers are some of the areas organizers say volunteers are needed most.
“If you can’t do anything else, just come and support the festival,” Madison said.
Stapleford echoed that call.
“We’re just hoping for that support because we truly, truly need it.”
After years of uncertainty and quieter fields, the People’s Choice Festival is betting on something familiar — that Boalsburg, once again, will show up and celebrate its return home.
For more information on the People’s Choice Festival, visit peopleschoicefestival.com or for sponsorship opportunities email Peopleschoicesponsors@gmail.com.
