Under the baobab: The season of events, festivals returns to Happy Valley
In the summer our central Pennsylvania community becomes a joyful festival of festivals, a cultural oasis between Philadelphia and Chicago.
The Penn State School of Music opened its annual Penn’s Woods Music Festival with a free performance on the lawn of the arboretum. An estimated 1,500 patrons listened to the Penn’s Woods Wind Symphony, conducted by Asst. Prof. Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin. They played American treasures, with selections including Gershwin, Goldman and Florence Price. The orchestra ended with an exuberant, crowd-pleasing rendition of Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” The series continues with chamber concerts on Wednesdays, June 19 and 26, at the Recital Hall; Jazz performances on Fridays, June 21 and 28 at the Olsan-Stone Terrace; and orchestral concerts on Saturdays, June 22 and 29.
The Juneteenth Committee co-chaired by Sita Frederick, Chiluvya Zulu and Leslie Laing opened an inspiring art exhibit at the Woskob Family Gallery, run by Zsuzsanna Nagy. The exhibit was curated by internationally celebrated artist, Prof. Grace Hampton. KO, 2024 PSU graduate originally from Nigeria, was the featured artist. Awards were presented to artists: Jolyn Phillips (first), Helen Velasquez Martinez (2nd), June Ramsay (3rd) and Farshid Ahrestani (honorable mention). In the high school category Sanai Abdullah (1st), Lila Sahoo (2nd), Nerve Johnson (3rd) and Maya Salter (honorable mention) received recognition. Many of the works of art are available for sale. The exhibit will remain open through July 14. It will overlap with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, which is under the guidance of executive director Pamela Snyder Etters. Arts Fest will begin with a Children and Youth Day on Wednesday, July 10.
The seventh annual Central Pennsylvania Theatre and Dance Festival kicked off Thursday in Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza. Presented by Tempest Productions under the artistic direction of Cynthia Mazzant, there were performances by Adam Swartz Puppets, Black Cat Belly Dance, Central PA Dance Workshop Children’s Ensemble, Centre Dance, Class Act Productions, Ensemble Studio Players, Hot Styles Dance Co., Kelly Scott Studios, Kids on Stage, Sock & Buskin Theatre, Squid Ink Collective, Tempest Productions and VanDance Inc. The festival featured 25 companies and over 100 artists presenting plays, recitals, poetry reading and workshops in various venues around the community.
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State celebrates the 50th anniversary of Eisenhower Auditorium with a “Flashback Forward” concert on Saturday. The 6:30 p.m. performance will feature Family Brew (former members of the Phyrst Phamily), The Screaming Ducks and Pure Cane Sugar. Brazilian Munchies, Farmstead Fusion, Rebelz Mobile Cuisine and Sunset Slush Happy Valley will offer food and beverages for purchase in front of the auditorium starting at 5:30 p.m. Beer by Elk Creek Café + Aleworks and wine by Mount Nittany Winery will be available for purchase in the Eisenhower Auditorium lobby for those age 21 and older.
For the celebration of her birthday, Pastor Bonnie Kline Smeltzer opened the doors of the University Baptist & Brethren Church this month for a special concert by folksinger and songwriter David Roth. He peppered the “sharing” with warm heartfelt stories about life and friendship in its joys and tribulations.
The Community Diversity Group under the leadership of Carol Eicher will hold a Diversity Conference on Tuesday, June 25 at the Penn Stater Hotel from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The theme will be “Embracing and Implementing Inclusion.” The keynote speaker will be Michael Wade Smith, Penn State’s senior vice president and chief of staff. He will address “Doing the Work; Understanding and Integrating DEI into your Personal Leadership Practice.”
With so much going on you will probably work up an appetite. Fortunately, Happy Valley Restaurant Week started June 14 and runs through Sunday. The chefs of 30 restaurants, some old, some new, all tasty, will present brand new mouthwatering entrees, drinks, or desserts — but just for the week.
Be joyful, neighbors. We need it!