Expect street closures during Bellefonte’s annual arts & crafts fair. See them here

The 40th Annual Bellefonte Arts & Crafts Fair will kick off downtown Friday, while residents and visitors alike will have nearly 100 artists and nine street closures to be aware of.

According to the fair’s website, more than a dozen live acts and 18 food vendors/artisans will be available from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and then 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. As with most events in downtown Bellefonte, that also means police have announced a number of street closures — starting 6 p.m. Thursday and ending 8 p.m. Saturday for setup/takedown — that the public should be aware of:

• North/South Allegheny Street (from Bishop Street to Linn Street)

• West High Street (from Spring Street to the Diamond area in center of town)

• East High Street (from Penn Street to the Diamond area in center of town, upside and downside)

• East/West Pike Street (from North Locust Lane to North Decatur Street)

• East/West Cherry Lane (from South Allegheny Street to Perry Lane)

• East/West Burrows Street (from Locust Lane to Decatur Street)

• East/West Lamb Street (from Locust Lane to Decatur Street)

• West Howard Street (from Allegheny Street to North Locust Lane) (Note: Municipal lot will remain open)

• East Howard Street (from Decatur Street to Allegheny Street)

It will be easier to get into Bellefonte, however, since South Water Street reopened to two-way traffic Wednesday after a monthslong closure following a wall collapse.

The Bellefonte Arts & Crafts Fair has been held annually since 1983, with a brief stretch taking place at Talleyrand Park in the 2010s. It’s a similar atmosphere to the People’s Choice Festival in Centre Hall.

More than 90% of artists are from Pennsylvania — with seven right from Bellefonte — but artists still come from as far as North Carolina (Mudd Pottery) and Massachusetts (M&M Links Jewelry). The fair breaks up the artists into 12 classifications of art, from glass to jewelry to wood.

Youth artists, those ages 8 to 17, will also sell their wares from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Diamond area in the center of town.

Visitors can catch a number of musical acts at the main stage in front of the courthouse on both days. Among the acts includes The Gabe Stillman Band, a blues band from Williamsport that previously placed in the “final 8” of the 35th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis. (They’re slated to play 2:30 p.m. Saturday.)

Those interested can also grab a free shuttle to and from the Bellefonte Area High School parking lot in case parking becomes an issue.

For more information on the fair, go to bellefontefair.org.