Around State College, Rick Bryant hears the name a lot.

Strangers hail him as “the Arts Fest guy” — an appropriate moniker for the 55-year-old State College resident. Since 2005, he has been the executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, this year July 11-15, and a paid staff member for 13 years.

As such, he has befriended artists, come to love chicken-on-a-stick and survived a brush with a tow truck.

How did you come to join the festival and why?

Why, because it was fun. And how: I used to sell insurance, and the festival took place right outside my office. So I started volunteering, and my first job was on the trash, doing the trash crew. Then I became an ambassador. It dawned on me that my volunteer job was more fun than my paid job. Fortunately for me, there was a staff member who quit about the time I had my Eureka moment. I didn’t want to sell insurance any more, and the stars sort of came together.

Was it tough initially to be the director?

Yeah, there were lots of initial challenges, one of which was I went from co-worker to being the boss, and that’s not really easy for anybody. And it probably wasn’t any easier for my co-worker than it was for me. But the big challenge with the festival is getting it paid for. It’s a free party. Year in, year out, that’s the biggest challenge. Any memorable glitches?

One of the most trying moments was setting up my first festival. I got run over by a tow truck. I was pretty excited and scared to be in charge of the whole thing, and I got run over and missed it all.

How did you get run over?

I was having a car towed, and they started to tow it when I was standing there. Great moments in the history of the arts festival. It’s one of the best. I mean, I had a tire mark up the back of my leg, just like in the cartoons. ... They took me to the hospital, and I could see from my cartoon X-ray, my leg was broken. The orthopedist said, ‘Well, we’ll operate on you on Thursday.’ I said, “I don’t mean to throw my weight around or anything, but I’m the director of the arts festival and it starts on Wednesday. Could you move my operation up a little bit?” Thinking, because I’m stupid, when they operate on you, you’ll feel better and it’ll be fine. Well, guess what? They operate on you and you feel worse. So the paid and volunteer staff really had to jump in that year, and so in a way, that was sort of the best and the worst. It was terrible for me, but it was gratifying to see what a great job they could do.

What has it meant to you to oversee this? It seems like a minor miracle that it always comes together.

Especially from somebody like me, who can’t leave the office and know where my car keys are. That’s one of my best qualities: I can’t ever find my car keys, my wallet or my watch. Here, I can organize the arts festival. It’s very gratifying. We bring a lot of great programming, and I’m very proud of that.

I think one of my proudest moments was when we got a call from the [National Endowment for the Arts] saying they would like to help us out. It was like: “Wow, this is cool. This is the bigs.”

Any favorite artists?

Actually, a lot of them are my favorites. The 300 artists who come every year, they sort of become our work friends. I mean, you have work friends who sit at the next desk. My work friends live in Florida and they come here five days a year.

Have you bought anything?

Oh yeah, I do buy stuff, but it has to ... there are people that are my friends, but I don’t like their work so much. There are people whose work I like, but I don’t really like them so much. So it has to be from somebody whose work I love, and I like them personally too.

What’s something you’ve bought that you treasure?

[Printmaker] Mitch Lyons, he’s been our Best in Show three times, I bought something from him. I went to a workshop, where he demonstrated his process. He signed [the work] to me, and his wife was his helper. I said I would only buy it if she signed it, too, so she did. I think that’s pretty cool. ... Another artist, her name is Susan Levi-Goerlich. She does embroidered pictures of landscapes and gardens. She actually came to my house and took pictures of my garden. She made a floral picture, so I bought that, because it’s my garden. How could I not?

Which direction would you like to take the festival?

I’d like to have more entertainers so when we say “We’re having so-and-so” you say, “Oh really?” I’d like to have more of that. We’re not quite there. We have a lot of really great entertainers, don’t get me wrong. But I’d like to have more of those: “Oh really.”

I’ve helped the [Schlow Centre Region Library] start BookFest, and I’d like to bring authors there so when I say, “We’re having Christopher Buckley” or we’re having Danielle Steel or whoever it might be, you go, “Oh really?” I’d like that, too. And we’ve had some of those people, those entertainers, and we have some authors and artists now, but I just want more of them.

Some people who remember past festivals say with musicians, there used to be larger names?

Well, it is a matter of paying for it. The economics of the festival and the music industry have changed over the years. And actually, in the olden days, I think that there probably — without doing a scientific study — were fewer of those moments than people remember. Because, you think, “Oh I saw B.B. King once,” you think B.B. King was there every year. Well, he really wasn’t. There were 46 arts festivals. Memories are a tricky thing. ... I do remember I once passed on an entertainer, and it wasn’t long after that he won a Tony, playing Jerry Lee Lewis. It was like, “Man, oh well, blew that one.”

What does the arts festival mean to State College?

It’s a huge economic engine, and a mark on the calendar. People divide their summer before the arts festival and after the arts festival. Restaurants count on it to make up for a lot of not-busy weeks. It’s an excuse for class reunions and parents to come visit their kids, anything like that. ... I went to one of my class reunions at UVa: “Rick, what are you doing for a job now?” I said, “I manage an art and music festival in State College.” They were like: yawn. I said, “Well, you know, as a result of my job, I got to be honorary grand marshal of Penn State’s Homecoming parade.” They said, “Get out of town. That is the coolest thing.”

Do people recognize you? Do you field comments?

Oh sure. It’s not just me. I think all our paid staff do that. People say, “You’re the Arts Fest guy.”

People say that frequently.

Do you mind that?

For the most part, I appreciate the suggestions because mostly people aren’t saying, “I’d like to have a Beatles reunion. Can you make that happen?” Mostly, they’re thoughtful. People are very nice.

Do you have a favorite food?

I would be a liar if I didn’t say I liked chicken-on-a-stick. And it’s hard not to like a hot sausage sandwich.

Have you gone through the mister?

I have gone through the mister a million times.

Have I been through the dumping buckets? I’m not sure if I ever have, because it would come right down on my head.

Do you have any artistic talent of your own?

I would describe myself as artistic. I’m not an artist. I sort of think visually. I’m interested in landscape architecture and interior design ... I’d like to think I have artistic vision, but that’s for other people to decide.