People’s Choice Festival heading back to ‘our home,’ organizers say. Here’s why
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- The People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania is moving back to Boalsburg, PA.
- The festival debuted in Boalsburg in 1993 and operated there until 2022.
- Organizers say the move back to Boalsburg could help increase attendance.
One of central Pennsylvania’s premier summer festivals is returning to its former stomping grounds this year.
The People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania is moving back to Boalsburg this summer, co-director John Madison told the Centre Daily Times. The event will once again set up outside the Pennsylvania Military Museum, where it was located for decades before moving to Centre Hall in 2022.
Madison said the move back to Boalsburg is a full-circle moment for the festival, which debuted outside the military museum in 1993.
“Our home is at the Pennsylvania Military Museum,” Madison said. “That’s where it started, that’s where it should be, and that’s where the public seems to want it.”
Following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, People’s Choice moved to the Grange Park in Centre Hall when organizers said new circumstances made staying at the museum “untenable.” At the time, a spokesperson for the museum said the festival had outgrown the facility and its ability to host the event, which was known to produce traffic and parking issues in Boalsburg.
Madison said festival attendance and engagement has declined since People’s Choice moved to Centre Hall. The event lost roughly 50 artists and 11 food vendors over those four years, but the co-director did not blame all departures on the location change.
“It was a nice place. It worked fine for us, but we just couldn’t draw a big enough crowd out there,” Madison said. “We couldn’t get the folks to drive that extra distance, and we needed a little more support than we were getting out there.”
“We just weren’t going to survive out there,” Madison added.
People’s Choice organizers began discussing the potential move back to Boalsburg in early 2026 and coordinated those efforts with the Pennsylvania Military Museum, the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and Harris Township. The event also received approval from Pennsylvania Historic Museum Commission officials in Harrisburg, ultimately paving the way for a grand return to the festival’s old stomping grounds.
As planning for the festival ramps up over the next few months, Madison said People’s Choice is in great need of volunteers and sponsors to ensure the event is a success.
“We’re desperately looking for people to help us work the festival,” Madison said. “We’re looking for volunteers or, if need be, paid employees to work the four days. Really, right now, we need to find ourselves a crew.”
Interested applicants can register as a festival volunteer by visiting the event’s website or emailing Madison directly at john@madisonshatr.com.
The 32nd annual People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania is slated for July 9-12. The annual “homegrown festival” celebrates the work of Pennsylvania artists with specialty foods, live entertainment and more on hand for guests of all ages.
The Pennsylvania Military Museum closed in December 2024 to begin a wide-ranging $3.4 million renovations project. The museum is expected to reopen in 2026, though officials have not yet shared an updated timeline.
To learn more about the next People’s Choice, visit the festival’s website.
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 4:50 PM.
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