A major change hits Arts Fest in 2024. This guide covers food, parking, live music & more
With the Fourth of July in the rear-view mirror and summer in full swing, beloved community events like the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts are just a few days away.
Affectionately shortened to Arts Fest by locals and longtime patrons alike, this festival annually draws thousands of people to the State College area. Big crowds are expected yet again this summer as the festival stretches from July 10 to 14.
Whether you’re planning your annual Arts Fest trip or considering a visit for the very first time, here’s what you need to know about parking, food, admission and more — including an expanded lineup of free live entertainment.
Where is Arts Fest? How do I get there?
Each year, Arts Fest occupies large parts of downtown State College and Penn State’s University Park campus.
After arriving in State College, guests can choose to park in one of three municipal parking garages downtown or head to Penn State’s campus for other parking deck options. State College’s Beaver Avenue, Fraser Street and Pugh Street garages charge $2.25 hourly with a maximum daily rate of $32. Penn State’s West Parking Deck, meanwhile, charges $1 per hour for the first two hours and $10 for between two and 10 hours.
A walk down to the festival from the West Parking Deck takes about 10 minutes, Arts Fest says. Guests parking at the West Parking Deck on campus can get to the festival quicker by using a free bus service to take them to the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street during the following periods:
- Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This year, the shuttle service now offers a stop at the newly opened Palmer Museum of Art near Penn State’s Arboretum.
Parking is also available at Penn State’s Nittany Parking Deck on the northern side of campus, but there is no shuttle service at that location, Arts Fest says on its website.
All about art
Art and creative goods take center stage at Arts Fest, where more than 300 artists from across the country are expected to sell their work at the festival’s Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition.
This year’s sale will stretch from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Participating artists and vendors, who set up individual booths throughout downtown State College and parts of Penn State’s campus, are also judged by a panel of jurors with a top prize of $20,000 on the line.
Arts Fest also hosts a separate sale and exhibition for artists between the ages of 8 and 18 who live in or have relatives in Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin or Union counties. This year’s Children’s & Youth Day is scheduled for Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Head to arts-festival.com/artists to learn more about this year’s featured artists and exhibitors. Guests at the festival will find participating exhibitors from the following categories:
- Basketry
- Ceramics
- Digital art
- Drawing
- Fiber
- Glass
- Jewelry
- Leather
- Metal
- Mixed media (2D)
- Mixed media (3D)
- Musical instruments
- Painting
- Paper
- Photography
- Printmaking
- Sculpture
- Watercolor
- Wood
Arts Fest also hosts an annual Banner Exhibition and Competition, tasking artists of all ages with creating colorful banners that will hang above and throughout the festival’s route. Submissions that impress festival judges the most will receive prizes.
The festival will host a courtesy tent in front of the State College Municipal Building, allowing guests to check their purchases while they continue enjoying other parts of Arts Fest’s offerings. The tent will open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, but note items can’t be dropped off outside those hours. Guests can later use the building’s rear parking lot when they’re ready to pick up their purchases, the festival says.
Whetting your ‘palette’
Arts Fest will host more than a dozen food vendors all weekend long. Locals might recognize some Centre County favorites in the mix, while other vendors will serve festival guests after traveling from nearby states like Virginia and New Jersey.
Here’s a preview of this year’s offerings, organized by their approximate location:
South Allen Street and Calder Way
- Miller’s Tropical Sno
South Allen Street and Highland Alley
- Chan’s Golden Gate
Food Truck Court at the Memorial Field parking lot
- Bonnie Blue’s Smokeys and Sweets
- Brazilian Munchies
- Everything about Crepes
- Funnel Cake Kings
- Hellenic Kouzina Mobile Kitchen
- Rebelz Mobile Kitchen
- Sinister Mini Donuts
- Sunset Slush of Happy Valley
South Allen Street and Nittany Avenue
- Belly Busters
- The Bean Box
- Moody Culture
- We Be Cheesin’
Sidney Friedman Park
- Hanson’s Kettle Korn
- Maine Bay & Berry
Penn State’s campus
- Penn State’s Berkey Creamery
- Real Taste 570
- Tropic-O-Cal
The following vendors will sell products at the intersection of Foster Avenue and South Allen Street during this year’s Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition:
- TorchBearer Sauces
- Blue Dragonfly Farm
- Hillbillys Beef Jerkey
- Korte BeeworX
- Saint Rocco’s Treats
- Scentual Aroma Inc.
- Seven Barrels
- Tait Farm Foods
Washing it all down
Arts Fets is once again collaborating with the Central PA Tasting Trail to host a craft beverage expo at Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on South Fraser Street in downtown State College. After paying a $10 cover charge, of-age patrons can sample and purchase drinks from a full slate of local vendors.
The expo, which will run from noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, also offers entertainment from local musicians. Prospective guests should note the State College borough’s ordinance prohibiting open containers of alcohol in public will remain in effect outside the expo’s gates.
The following vendors are expected to participate in the craft beverage expo:
- Barrel 21 Distillery (Friday)
- Boal City Brewing (Friday)
- Keewaydin Cider Mill (Friday)
- Otto’s Pub and Brewery (Friday)
- Titan Hollow (Friday)
- University Wine Co. (Friday and Saturday)
- 814 Cider Works (Saturday)
- Axemann Brewery (Saturday)
- Big Spring Spirits (Saturday)
- Mount Nittany Winery (Saturday)
- Pisano Winery (Saturday)
- Robin Hood Brewring Co. (Saturday)
Visit arts-festival.com/central-pennsylvania-tasting-trail-craft-beverage-expo to find a list of live music and entertainment scheduled for the expo.
Cold bottled water is available along the festival route at Arts Fest information booths, located at the corners of Pollock Road and Burrowes Road, Fairmount Avenue and Fraser Street and College Avenue and South Allen Street. Each bottle costs $2.
Live music and entertainment
Wandering around Arts Fest without running into live music or entertainment is a challenge. Just as in years past, this summer’s festival will host dozens of artists and acts across varying genres and styles—but this time, it’s almost all free.
Nearly all live entertainment hosted by Arts Fest will be free this year, organizers said in June. During previous festivals, guests were required to purchase wristbands or buttons to gain admission to paid indoor entertainment options. Wristbands cost $15 in 2023.
A few of this year’s entertainment options, including shows at the State Theatre and Blue Brick Theatre, will still require paid admission. Check the full list of performers to see this year’s entertainment options, including show times, genres and locations throughout State College and Penn State’s campus.
You can visit arts-festival.com/performances for a more detailed look at this year’s entertainment options.
Other tips and tricks
You can stay connected on all things Arts Fest by using the festival’s official mobile app. Officially titled CPFA—Arts Fest, the app is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Guests can use the free app to find information on festival art vendors, food and drink options, upcoming entertainment and more. Interactive maps and programming schedules will receive updates as the festival progresses. Be sure to look out for notifications that might alert you to schedule changes, weather events and special deals, the festival suggests.
Those who need a break from the hustle and bustle might choose to visit Schlow Centre Region Library for its Sensory Oasis Spaces on its second floor. There, you’ll find a quiet area for relaxation, a “teen space” with low-stimulation activities designed to reduce stress and a sun room featuring streamable music, audiobooks, coloring, crafts and other stress-relief activities.
Arts Fest’s official poster this year is a “must-have” for collectors, festival organizers say. This year’s edition featured a jester and was developed by Saige Sommese, the daughter of the poster’s longtime designer who died in 2022.
You can pick up this year’s poster for free through the end of the festival at the following locations:
- Kissinger Bigatel & Brower, 2300 S. Atherton St. in State College
- Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, 403 S. Allen St., Suite 205A in State College
- Downtown State College Improvement District, 127 S. Fraser St. in State College
- State College Framing Company and Gallery, 160 Rolling Ridge Drive in State College
- HUB-Robeson Center desk on Penn State’s campus
- The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, 204 W. Beaver Ave. in State College
- Hintz Family Alumni Center on Penn State’s campus
About Arts Fest
The beloved central Pennsylvania festival can trace its roots back to 1967, when the then-State College Chamber of Commerce and Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture collaborated “in an effort to bring the arts and commerce to the area,” Arts Fest says. Organizers hoped the initiative would boost business in the summer while the university’s students were away.
More than half a century later, the independent, not-for-profit organization has grown its festival to become a staple in central Pennsylvania. Arts Fest is now operated year-round thanks to a full-time staff, a volunteer board of directors and hundreds of volunteers.
Each winter, the CPFA also produces First Night State College, an art-centered celebration that rings in the new year.
This story was originally published July 10, 2024 at 6:30 AM.
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