CENTRE HALL — The annual People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts, from Thursday, July 11, to Sunday, July 14, is celebrating a big milestone. This year’s arts show is the 30th anniversary of the local event.
Established in 1993 as a small community event, the art festival has gone through many changes, including a new venue and a pandemic, as it has evolved over the last three decades.
George and Nancy Marion first organized a group of volunteers in 1993 to put on the festival — which is timed during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts — that featured around 50 vendors at the time and a few bands. Now, it is entering its third year at the Grange Park in Centre Hall, which provides extra space for the festival to include over 200 artisans, a wide variety of food vendors, live performances and activities for all ages.
“We invite our many friends and families to come out to the festival to visit their favorite artists and meet new ones, enjoy the free entertainment, enjoy fantastic food and have a relaxing visit away from the hustle and bustle,” Amy Madison, People’s Choice publicity director, said.
The four-day festival will feature a range of entertainment — from local performers to tribute bands — food and specialty food vendors, wineries and cideries and of course, the talented artisans who work in a wide range of mediums, including wood, clay, baskets, textiles, paintings, prints, photography and more.
This year, to celebrate turning 30, the festival will have a special 30th-anniversary tent, made possible by State College Framing Company. The tent will feature memorabilia from the last 30 years of the festival, and a special 30th-anniversary cake, provided by Delectable Delights of Centre Hall, will be served on Saturday, July 13.
Parking for the People’s Choice is free for all visitors and is sponsored by Bath Fitter. In place of the previous parking fee, the event is asking for donations of nonperishable foods, which will be collected throughout the festival and donated to a local food bank upon completion of the event.
For more information, visit peopleschoicefestival.com.
