STATE COLLEGE — The Happy Valley Latin Festival returns for its 6th year and, this time, it’s just the beginning.
The signature event takes place Saturday, Sept. 12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., filling the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza and the 100-block of South Fraser Street in Downtown State College. This year, the festival officially opens Hispanic Heritage Month for the region, with programming running countywide through Oct. 15.
Now in its sixth year, the festival has grown from a single afternoon gathering into one of Central Pennsylvania’s most anticipated cultural celebrations, drawing around 2,500 visitors last year alone, many of them local families and Centre County residents. The event remains free and open to all, inviting the whole community to experience the color, rhythm and warmth of Latin American culture in the heart of downtown.
Among this year’s featured programming is the Second Annual Latin Art Exhibition, “Hands That Build, Roots in Motion: We plant, we build, we flourish,” hosted by the Borough of State College. The exhibition showcases local and regional Latinx and Latin American artists, following the success of last year’s inaugural show #SomosCultura.
Together, the festival and the exhibition anchor a month-long celebration of Latin heritage across the region.
The festival was conceived and developed by Adianez “Ady” Martínez, owner of Juana’s Venezuelan Cuisine, who recognized the need for a dedicated platform to showcase the dynamic talents within the region’s Latino and Hispanic communities. What started as a single event in 2021 has since grown, with the support of committed community members and partners, into Latin Vibe, the nonprofit organization Martínez helped build to advance Hispanic leadership development in State College and surrounding communities. Through Latin Vibe, the organization sponsors and promotes community, social, educational, and cultural programming year-round, with the Happy Valley Latin Festival as its flagship event.
The 2026 festival promises a full sensory experience: live music, a parade of traditional dresses from across Latin America and beyond, children carrying the flags of their families’ home countries, and a curated selection of craft vendors including several Latina-owned small businesses joining the festival for the first time. The scent of Peruvian pastries, Colombian empanadas, Honduran tamales, Mexican tacos, Brazilian coxinhas and other traditional cuisine will drift over the crowd all day, celebrating the culinary heritage central to Latin culture.
This year’s event is made possible through the support of the Borough of State College along with the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and the Centre County Commissioners, the Downtown State College Improvement District, and a growing list of supporters.
For more information, including a full schedule of events, visit www.happyvalleylatinfestival.org/ or follow@hvlatinfestival on Instagram and Happy Valley Latin Festival on Facebook.
