Planning the perfect Arts Fest visit: Your guide to parking, food, music & more in 2026
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Arts Fest runs July 8–12, 2026, across downtown State College and Penn State’s campus.
- Parking is available downtown and on Penn State’s campus, with a free courtesy shuttle.
- More than 300 artists are expected at the Sidewalk Sale.
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Centre County festival weekend 2026
It’s that time of year in Centre County — tents, food trucks and stages are popping up for events like the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and the People’s Choice Festival. Find full coverage below.
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Long-awaited arts festivals preparing to welcome guests can only mean one thing: Summer is in full swing.
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts — better known simply as Arts Fest — will once again draw thousands of visitors to the State College area to browse craft goods, enjoy live music and chow down on snacks and drinks. This year’s festival will run from July 8-12, starting with the Children and Youth Day.
Whether returning as a longtime fan or preparing for your very first visit, here’s what you’ll need to know about spending a day at Arts Fest.
Navigating the festival
After waking up bring and early on a warm July morning, you’re finally ready to visit the 60th annual Arts Fest and enjoy a busy day in downtown State College. But first, you need to get there.
Each year, Arts Fest sprawls across several blocks and streets in downtown State College and parts of Penn State’s University Park campus. Vendors will set up booths on parts of Allen Street, Fairmount Avenue and Fraser Street, as well as Pollock Road, Burrowes Road and the western sidewalks of the Old Main Mall on campus.
Festival organizers encourage guests to park at Penn State’s West Parking Deck on White Course Drive, where parking costs $2 for the first hour, $3 for under two hours and up to $10 for between two and 10 hours. There, a free bus service will shuttle guests to the festival center on the corner of Allen Street and College Avenue, with an additional stop at the Palmer Museum of Art.
The shuttle service to and from the West Parking Deck is available from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Those who choose to walk to the festival zone from the garage should expect a roughly 10-minute, 0.5-mile trip.
Parking is also available at State College’s Beaver Avenue, Fraser Street and Pugh Street municipal garages. During the festival, they will charge $2.25 per hour up to $32 per day.
All things art
With your car parked, it’s time to check out the main attraction.
More than 300 artists from across the country are expected to show off their work and sell creative goods at this year’s Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, which is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A panel of jurors will judge artists’ booths and hand out $20,000 in prizes.
Visit arts-festival.com/artists to learn more about this year’s featured creators and exhibitors. The Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition will feature participating vendors in the following categories:
- Basketry
- Ceramics
- Digital art
- Drawing
- Fiber
- Glass
- Jewelry
- Leather
- Metal
- Mixed media (2D)
- Mixed media (3D)
- Musical instruments
- Other
- Painting
- Paper
- Photography
- Printmaking
- Sculpture
- Watercolor
- Wood
Guests can visit the State College Municipal Building on South Allen Street to store any purchased art for safekeeping while they enjoy the rest of the festival. The courtesy tent requires guests to pick up their art on the same day pieces are left there.
The festival’s Children & Youth Day on Wednesday will feature a separate sale devoted to young artists. Then, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can peruse crafts made and marketed by children between 8 and 18 years old.
Children can also visit Sidney Friedman Park and the Old Main lawn starting at 10 a.m. to complete free arts and crafts activities.
Art takes to the sky through the festival’s Banner Exhibition and Competition, which hangs colorful banners above the Arts Fest route. The banners, arguably one of the most iconic elements of the 59-year-old festival, are judged in several categories.
Street painters on the corner of Foster Avenue and South Allen Street will work on-site from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, weather permitting.
New this year is a live mural exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Five selected artists with Pennsylvania ties will create murals along the festival route based on the overarching theme of “Dreaming American Futures,” as well as the closing excerpt from the poem “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman.
Festival food
After perusing the Sidewalk Sale or checking out some art in the making, you’ve likely worked up an appetite.
In addition to downtown State College restaurants, dozens of food trucks and vendors will serve snacks, lunch options and more at this year’s festival. Hungry guests can expect to find everything from kettle corn and oversized cheeseburgers to craft coffees, shaved ice and seafood.
Here’s a look at this year’s offerings, organized by their approximate location along the festival route:
South Allen Street and Calder Way
- Idou Coffee Co.
- Miller’s Tropical Sno
South Allen Street and Highland Alley
- Chan’s Golden Gate
Food Truck Court (at Memorial Field)
- Belly Busters
- Bonnie Blue’s Smokeys and Sweets
- Brazilian Munchies
- Kaleena’s
- Hellenic Kouzina Mobile Kitchen
- Rebelz Mobile Kitchen
- Sunset Slush of Happy Valley
South Allen Street and Nittany Avenue
- Doug’s Dawgs
- Moody Culture
- Inside Out Cookie
- Classic Cones
Sidney Friedman Park
- Maine Bay & Berry
- Hanson’s Original Kettle Korn
On Penn State’s campus
- Penn State’s Berkey Creamery
- Tropic-O-Ice
Washing it down
Need to cool off with a craft cocktail or wash down some grub with an ice-cold beer? Look no further than Arts Fest’s own craft beverage garden.
The festival has once again teamed up with the Central PA Tasting Trail to feature central Pennsylvania-based wineries, breweries and distilleries, including local favorites like Axemann Brewery, Otto’s, Big Springs Spirits and Robin Hood Brewing Co. Craft beverage producers will set up shop at Sidney Friedman Park to pour samples and full tastes of their signature offerings.
The craft beverage garden will operate from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The garden now includes all of Sidney Friedman Park, but the public can still access the park without needing to buy a drink.
Of-age patrons must present a valid ID to purchase their reusable cups, which cost $10 but include the first fill. All alcohol must be consumed within the park’s enclosure, as the State College borough prohibits open containers of alcohol in public areas.
Live music and entertainment
You’d have a hard time exploring the festival route without running into a few live concerts and performances along the way.
Dozens of local and regional acts and artists of many genres will perform throughout the festival, including rock bands, puppet shows, big band swing sets and sting symphonies. A full daily schedule of festival entertainment is available online at arts-festival.com/performances.
Performances are scheduled for stages at Sidney Friedman Park, South Allen Street and the festival shell on Old Main lawn, as well as the corner of Pollock and Burrowes roads and outside the Willard Building on Penn State’s campus.
Nearly all performances are free this year after the festival did away with paid wristbands and buttons in 2024. Still, some options — including Happy Valley Improv shows at the Blue Brick Theatre and The State Theatre — still require a separate admission fee.
Other tips and tricks
Arts Fest’s Kids Zone returns this year after launching in 2025. There, families can find kid-friendly crafts, games and more to help blow off some steam. This play area in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza along South Fraser Street is available from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The festival’s official mobile app, CPFA — Arts Fest, can help guests catch up on entertainment, see vendor locations, browse interactive maps, hear about schedule changes and more. The app is available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Anyone who needs a break from the hustle and bustle can visit Schlow Centre Region Library’s second floor to find dedicated sensory spaces. The library also offers a nursing and lactation station.
Bottled spring water is available for $2 along the festival route on the corners of Pollock and Burrowes, Fairmount and Fraser and College and Allen.
There’s perhaps no more iconic Arts Fest souvenir than the annual festival poster, and it’s not too late to snag one. This year’s poster is the creation of Saige Sommese, whose father, Lanny Sommese, designed the festival’s posters for decades.
Free posters are available at the following locations while supplies last:
- 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)
- The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (204 W. Beaver Ave. in State College)
- Hintz Family Alumni Center (on Penn State’s campus)
About Arts Fest
Central Pennsylvania’s premier arts festival can trace its roots back to 1967, when the State College Chamber of Commerce partnered with Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture “in an effort to bring the arts and commerce to the area,” the festival says. Organizers hoped the festival would help boost local businesses while Penn State students were away for the summer.
Now, nearly 60 years later, the independent, not-for-profit organization serves as one of the biggest summer events in central Pennsylvania. Arts Fest operates year-round thanks to a full-time staff, a volunteer board of directors and hundreds of volunteers.
Each year, Arts Fest organizers also produce First Night State College, an art-centered celebration held on New Year’s Eve.
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