By MADISON COLLINS
Gazette intern
The festival season in Centre County moves up a peg this week as four community events get underway or have already started. With COVID-19 putting a halt to three of these events in 2020 and 2021, 2022 is bound to be a year no one will forget anytime soon.
Between the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, the People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts, Art in the Orchard at Way Fruit Farm and Philipsburg’s Heritage Days, there is sure to be something for everybody among these festivals.
Art, food, music, parades and so much more will be taking place over the next several days.
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
The 56th annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts began on July 13 and continues through Sunday, July 17, on the streets of downtown State College and the adjacent Penn State campus.
The festival features the nationally recognized Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, a juried gallery exhibition, Children and Youth Day, street painting, educational opportunities, music, dance and theatrical performances in a variety of outdoor and indoor venues.
The Arts Festival commenced with Children and Youth Day, sponsored by Penn State Health, on July 13.
The Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition opened July 14 and will open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through July 16, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 17.
The works of more than 300 exhibitors comprise one of the nation’s best juried fine art and craft shows. A panel of four jurors will award more than $17,500 in prize money to winning exhibitors during a ceremony at 9 a.m. on July 16 at the Allen Street Stage.
The 2022 street painting exhibition recognizes the cross-border popularity of street painting among Italy, England and Germany.
A variety of local visual artists will create 6-foot by 4-foot paintings on Foster Avenue and South Allen Street.
A similar event for the kids, Young Artists Alley, gives children the opportunity to create a 14-inch by 14-inch square street painting. Painting ends at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday, weather permitting.
In addition, the public is invited to purchase tickets to the Festive Spirits benefit party, which will be held at The Towers, 403 S. Allen St., at 5 p.m. on July 15.
Bellefonte’s Big Spring Spirits will provide locally sourced spirits, with hors d’oeuvres by Catering with Style.
The CPFA silent auction will also be returning this year. The auction will be in its usual spot on the 100 block of South Allen Street.
The auction opened on July 14 and remains open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sunday hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Proceeds of this auction help to offset the costs of the festival.
Also on July 14, performances at the Allen Street Stage open with a set by the Quasi Quintet. The Kinsey Sicks will also be performing that evening at The State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave., at 8:30 p.m.
Other performances during the event include The Rhythm Future Quartet, Happy Valley Improv, the Molly Ryan Swingtet, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, the Raleigh Ringers, the Presbybop Quartet and a showing of the silent film that tells the story of Don Diego Vega.
While most performances are free, some require a festival wristband, and the Kinsey Sicks requires a ticket.
Wristbands are $15 for adults and are free for children ages 12 and under. These are good for the entire festival and grant admission on a space-available basis to selected indoor events.
Wristbands are available at each performance venue, at many locations on the festival route and in downtown State College stores.
This year, CPFA has partnered with the Central Pennsylvania Tasting Trail, which will present a craft beverage expo in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza through July 16 from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Fifteen Centre County distilleries, wineries, breweries and cideries are participating.
There is a $10 cover charge to enjoy beverage tastings and the opportunity to purchase local craft beverages.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE FESTIVAL OF PENNSYLVANIA ARTS & CRAFTS
The People’s Choice Festival of Arts and Crafts is starting fresh with a new venue this year. It has relocated from its longtime home at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg to Grange Park in Centre Hall.
Admission to the festival is free; however, parking at the event is $6.
There will be plenty of unique works on display. More than 200 artists and crafters will be on hand to display and sell their work. This includes, but is not limited to, pottery, clothes, glass, hand-woven baskets, handmade jewelry, cookware, candles and caricatures.
There are also several food options available at People’s Choice. From hot sausage sandwiches to crabcakes, there is bound to be something for everybody. Concession options this year include Scott’s Roasting, Snyder’s Concessions, BBQ by Clem, Miller’s Tropical Snocones, Carper’s and the Nutty Bavarian.
There are also specialty food vendors such as Mister G. Coffee Company, with fresh-roasted coffee, and The Piper’s Peck, with hot pepper products such as salsa and hot pepper jellies.
There are even food options for pets at the Village Eatinghouse and Me & My Dog Pet Bakery. Numerous wine options will also be available for purchase; however, they are for off-premises consumption only.
People’s Choice also features many events specifically designed for children. Young artists can begin their artistic journey by selling their art in the youth artisan tent. Kids can also enjoy face-painting, glitter tattoos, glitter art and tie-dying t-shirts.
There is even an opportunity to learn more about science through experiments with Ellen Henry’s Hands-On Science Museum.
For the kids with endless amounts of energy, there will be a bouncy house to let that excitement run wild. Some of these activities require a small fee and others accept donations.
ART IN THE ORCHARD
Way Fruit Farm is having its second annual Art in the Orchard festival this year, which runs through July 16.
Jason and Megan Coopey, Way Fruit Farm’s owners and managers, began Art in the Orchard last year to provide a place for artists to show and sell their work after Arts Fest and People’s Choice were canceled.
In addition to the artist displays, several live music performances are on the agenda.
On July 14, Chris Bell, Victor and the Icons and Velveeta will perform. July 15 performances will feature Overhead, Eastern Standard and Donny Burns. And lastday performances include Biscuit Jamm, Corner Brothers and Joe Quick.
Of course, there will also be tons of food vendors to satisfy any craving visitors may have. These vendors include Beech Hollow BBQ, Pappy’s Popcorn, Savory Station, Snyder’s Concessions and Sunset Slush Happy Valley.
HERITAGE DAYS
Community awards to first responders and vesper services kicked off Philipsburg’s Heritage Days celebration in Philipsburg on July 12. The event will continue through July 17.
On July 15, a flower show is featured at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church beginning at 1 p.m., and Hair Force One is scheduled to bring their classic rock music to the sound stage as the evening’s entertainment.
The events ramp up on July 16 as the grand parade kicks off at 2 p.m. At its conclusion, the Drum and Bugle Corps will offer a presentation on Front Street near Philipsburg Towers.
At 7 p.m. Screwdriver Sally will perform at the Cold Stream Dam stage to welcome visitors coming to see the fireworks display, which is set to begin lighting the night sky at 10 p.m.
Throughout the festival, the YMCA’s Summer Lunch Program will bring out the Travelin’ Table bus to offer kids a healthy lunch and evening snack.
Heritage Days will officially end on July 17 with Philipsburg Community Day at Delgrosso’s Amusement Park in Tipton.
