Arts Fest’s Sidewalk Sale & Exhibition closes early Friday after damaging storm

A fast-moving storm brought power outages and downed trees and wires to Centre County on Friday afternoon.

More than 3,300 were without power at about 4 p.m. in the State College Borough, according to West Penn Power.

Crews were called to respond reports of wires down and fallen trees on roadways in areas including Bellefonte, State College and Penns Valley, according to dispatch reports. The storm brought heavy rain, high winds and hail.

Part of Westerly Parkway was closed as of about 4:15 p.m. but was expected to soon reopen. During the heavy rain, water was about a foot deep on the roadway, officials said.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts announced at 5 p.m. that the Sidewalk Sale & Exhibition will close immediately and will reopen at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“Due to the recent storms, several artists, as well as Festival operations, received damages and will need an opportunity to recover,” a press released stated. “While it saddens us to close the sale, we feel it is necessary to make this challenging decision.”

Performances are on as scheduled Friday evening.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect through 4:30 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 4:14 PM.