Centre County best bets: Harry Potter Day, Keller Williams, poetry and more

This weekend and beyond, Centre County will host a Harry Potter party, speakers, artists and acclaimed musicians.

Keller Williams

Keller Williams, a solo bluegrass artist, will perform Saturday at The State Theatre. Williams first emerged as an independent artist in the ‘90s, and is known for his ability to improvise acoustic tunes, engage his audiences, and play the guitar. His latest studio album, “Speed,” was released in 2019, and reinterprets popular songs by artists such as The Doors and Kacey Musgraves. The show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://thestatetheatre.org/keller-williams/.

Harry Potter Day

The Nittany Mall will host Harry Potter Day on Saturday, complete with Butterbeer, spells, iron-on patches, the Sorting Hat, airbrush tattoos and more. Penn State’s Renaissance Club will perform a human chess match, Connection will provide hands-on creatures and Nittany Fencing be on-site with fencing demonstrations. It will run from 1-5 p.m. and costumes are welcome. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page.

Photo journey through the Appalachian Trail

On Wednesday, Penn State graduate Christina Platt, who traveled the entire length of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, will present a selection of the thousands of photographs she took along the way. On her 2,200 mile journey, she raised more than $7,000 for opioid prevention. The slideshow is called “Seeing Farther: A Photo Journey on The Appalachian Trail” and will be accompanied by stories about her time on the trail. It will run from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Appalachian Outdoors in downtown State College. More information can be found at the event’s Facebook page.

Poet Chet’la Sebree

Chet’la Sebree, the author of the 2019 poetry collection “Mistress,” will give a free public reading of her work Thursday as part of the Mary E. Rolling Reading Series. “Mistress” tells the story of Sally Hemings, a mixed race woman and slave who had several children with President Thomas Jefferson. The reading will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Paterno Library’s Foster Auditorium. Visit https://creativewriting.psu.edu/ for more information.