Arts Fest returns to State College. Here’s a complete guide to food, parking and more

Summer is finally here, and beloved traditions like the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts are just a few days away.

The festival, commonly shortened to Arts Fest, annually draws roughly 125,000 people to the State College area. This year’s rendition will stretch from July 12 to 16.

Whether you’re planning for your annual trip or are thinking of visiting for the first time, here’s what you need to know.

How to get there

Arts Fest occupies large swaths of downtown State College and some parts of Penn State’s campus.

Once you’ve arrived, you might consider parking at any of the four downtown State College parking garages, located at 200 W. Beaver Ave., 126 S. Pugh St., 135 Fraser St. and 132 McAllister St. The garages’ hourly rates during the festival are $2.25 per hour with a maximum daily rate of $32, Arts Fest says.

Guests might also consider parking on Penn State’s campus at the West Parking Deck located along White Course Drive. During the festival, parking will cost $1 per hour for the first two hours and $10 for between two and 10 hours.

Walks from the West Parking Deck to the heart of Arts Fest last roughly 10 minutes over half a mile, the festival estimates.

Additionally, a free bus loop is scheduled to shuttle between the West Parking Deck and the corner of College Avenue and South Allen Street during Arts Fest. The service will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Art takes center stage

While food and live entertainment might steal the spotlight at times, Arts Fest still features plenty of creative goods and exhibitions.

More than 300 exhibitors from across the country are expected to sell their work at the festival’s Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, which stretches from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Vendors will showcase their goods in individual booths lining portions of Penn State’s campus and downtown State College.

A separate sidewalk sale featuring artists ages 8 through 18 is scheduled for Wednesday. According to an Arts Fest release, this year’s Children & Youth Day is expected to feature more than 280 young artists, making it the largest children and youth sidewalk sale in festival history.

You can visit arts-festival.com/artists to browse this year’s featured artists and exhibitors. The following categories are offered:

• 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 is also known for its Banner Exhibition and Competition, which tasks artists of all ages with creating and displaying colorful banners that hang about the festival’s route. Prizes are awarded for submissions that impress the festival’s panel of jurors.

Getting some grub

Nearly 20 food vendors are slated to serve Arts Fest guests all weekend long. While some call Centre County home, other options are visiting from New Jersey, Virginia and other parts of the Keystone State. Here’s a preview of the offerings, by location:

South Allen Street and Calder Way

• Miller’s Tropical Sno

• The Tuckerbox

South Allen Street and Highland Alley

• Chan’s Golden Gate

Memorial Field parking lot

• Bees Knees Coffee

• Bonnie Blue’s Smokeys and Sweets

• Brazilian Munchies Food Truck

• Everything about Crepes

• Funnel Cake Kings

• Happy Dishes

• Hellenic Kouzina Mobile Kitchen

• Rebelz Mobile Kitchen

South Allen Street and West Nittany Avenue

• Backwoods Smoke Shack

• Heeter’s Ice Cream Truck

• Moody Culture

• We Be Cheesin’

Sidney Friedman Park

• Hason’s Kettle Korn

• Maine Bay & Berry

University Park campus

• Penn State Berkey Creamery

Beer, wine, cider & spirits coming back to State College’s annual Arts Fest. What to know

Washing it down

Once again, Arts Fest is collaborating with the Central PA Tasting Trail to host a craft beverage expo at Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza along South Fraser Street. For a $10 fee, of-age patrons can sample drinks and purchase beer, wine, cider and more by the glass, plus bottled beverages.

The expo will operate from 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday and from noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday with accompanying entertainment from local musicians. The State College borough’s ordinance prohibiting open containers of alcohol in public will remain in effect, so drinks must be consumed within the expo’s gates.

The following exhibitors are expected to participate in the craft beverage expo:

• Pisano Winery

• Big Spring Spirits

• 814 Cider Works

• Seven Mountains Wine Cellars

• Robin Hood Brewery

• Barrel 21 Distillery

• Happy Valley Vineyard & Winery

• Keewaydin Cider Mill

• Otto’s Pub and Brewery

• University Wine Co.

• Axemann Brewery

• Elk Creek Cafe & Aleworks

• Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery

• Titan Hollow

Bottles of water are available for $2 along the festival route and at Arts Fest information booths.

Music and entertainment

You’d be hard-pressed to visit Arts Fest without running into live music on nearly every block. Much like in years past, this summer’s festival is slated to host dozens of artists and acts covering a wide array of musical styles.

Arts Fest’s musical entertainers will perform throughout State College all festival long. Some of the top outdoor venues include the Festival Shell on the lawn of Penn State’s Old Main, stages along Allen Street and at Sydney Friedman Park and several outdoor plazas. Performances are also scheduled indoors at the State Theatre and the State College Presbyterian Church.

Admission to most shows is included for those who purchase the festival’s $15 wristband, available at more than a dozen locations in State College and Bellefonte. Children ages 12 and younger get in free alongside an adult with a wristband.

Visit arts-festival.com/performances for a full, day-by-day schedule of entertainment at this year’s festival.

Staying connected

This year, Arts Fest is offering a mobile app to help customize and organize the festival-going experience.

The app features information on art vendors, food and drink, upcoming entertainment, helpful guides and more. It also includes interactive maps, plus schedules that are expected to update as the festival progresses.

Make sure to look out for real-time notifications that might alert you to time or venue adjustments, weather alerts and special deals, the festival says.

You can browse activities and entertainment options through the app and add them to your custom schedule, available in a separate tab along the bottom. It’s up to you to browse through Arts Fest’s offerings to construct a festival bucket list.

Arts Fest’s app, named CPFA — Arts Fest, is available for free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Those who prefer a more old-school approach might consider picking up a copy of the festival’s program guide. According to Arts Fest, the program is available for free at the following locations:

• Bellefonte: Art Ala Carte, Giant, Weis, Bellefonte Art Museum

• State College: Kish Bank Expect More Store, Waffle Shop restaurants, Giant, Weis, Wegmans, Meyer Dairy, State College Framing Company & Gallery, State College borough, Schlow Centre Region Library, HUB-Robeson Center, Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, 3 Dots Downtown, Art Alliance (Lemont), Residence Inn by Marriott, Hyatt Place State College, Scholar Hotel State College and most other are hotels

Here’s where to find the 2023 poster for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts

About Arts Fest

The 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.

In the 50-plus years since, 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 more than 600 volunteers.

Each winter, the CPFA also produces First Night State College, an art-centric celebration to ring in the new year.