A group from the Centre County Council of Human Services launched the Centre County Super Fair last year, wanting to bring the community an event similar to the home show held every March, but with a whole gamut of community agencies.
“You can go to the home show and learn all about the different ways to take care of your home,” said Natalie Corman, director of the Centre County Office of Adult Services and co-chair of the Super Fair’s planning committee. “We thought, why not make a home show, but about our community where we find out about how we can take care of ourselves and our community.”
From in-home services and rental offices to community nonprofits, the Super Fair did not turn any entity down for this year’s fair, as long as the business or agency offers a service to the community.
Last year, just shy of 100 agencies set up at the fair. This year, closer to 110 agencies will attend the event, being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Mount Nittany Middle School in State College.
Including agency representatives, about 750 people attended the fair last year. With increased advertising, Corman said she hopes numbers will increase this year.
The event is an opportunity for community members of all ages and with all interests to find out about services and volunteer opportunities in Centre County.
“Our hope is that people not only learn about what kind of help there is in this community, but then they also learn how to give back to the community,” Corman said.
Many government agencies will set up at the tables lined along a corridor in the middle school, including the Centre County Office of Veteran Affairs, the Office of Aging and the Office of Transportation. Some nonprofits that will attend include Friends and Farmers Cooperative, the Community Help Centre and Centre Volunteers in Medicine. Departments from Penn State, apartment complexes and Schlow Centre Region Library will also be in attendance.
Schlow Library is participating for the second year. Sure, people can come to the library to receive information, said Susanna Paul, a spokesperson for the library. But, the benefit of coming to the Super Fair is that “it is one-stop shopping for people who want to find out about the resources in their community.”
This year, the library will offer remote library card sign-ups.
“While someone might go to learn about home care services for an aging parent,” Corman said, “we also want someone to be able to learn that they can donate their winter coats to an agency, where they give back in the community for families in need.”
Corman said the benefit of attending the Super Fair is that many people don’t know what services and volunteer opportunities are available in the community or they may want to talk face-to-face with a specific agency. During the Super Fair, all the agencies are in one easy location.
“We think it’s important to get out and work for the community and get their feedback of what to offer in future,” said Niki Tourscher, of the Centre Region Senior Center, which will be participating in the Super Fair. People representing the agency will man tables and be available to speak with attendees.
When guests arrive at the event, they will receive a guide they can pair with the individualized information and fliers they receive from agency booths so that they can “know their options,” Corman said.
“This is an opportunity for the community to really see our superheroes. That’s why we dubbed it a ‘superhero’ thing,” Corman added.
To coincide with the superhero theme, superheroes will be located in the hallway to entertain kids and greet guests. There will also be four entertainment and education sessions in the auditorium and two Rotary Clubs will sell food.
Some of the sponsors that helped pull funds together to both make the event possible and offer free tables to participating organizations are Centre County government, Centre County Affordable Housing Coalition, Centre County Partnership for Community Health and Centre Area Transportation Authority.
The event and parking are both free.
