Take to the streets: State College block party events to bring live music, retail
A new series of events this summer hopes to help the State College community take to the streets to connect and support local establishments.
Starting Tuesday, 3 Dots Downtown, a community arts and event space in downtown State College, will shut down a portion of Pugh Street once a month this summer to host an innovative block party. There, guests can expect live entertainment, retail options from local vendors and plenty of snacks and treats.
Erica Quinn, 3 Dots’ executive director, said the Pugh Street Shutdown events aim to help community members connect, celebrate the summer and simply enjoy a night out on the town.
“We really get excited about having people come because they want to get a beer or people who want to listen to the DJ. Maybe someone who wants to get something from the earrings vendor or another who wants local food,” Quinn said. “People come for a variety of reasons, but they’ll get to encounter other groups of people. We’re getting excited to host this party where there are people meeting and having conversations who might never have had the opportunity to do so otherwise.”
3 Dots’ first Pugh Street Shutdown will stretch from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28. The event will block off a portion of South Pugh Street from Calder Way up to Beaver Avenue. The Pugh Street parking garage will remain accessible to guests via College Avenue.
At the block party, 3 Dots will host live performances from State College music duo Canary and Opulence, Penn State’s leading drag ambassador club. The event will also feature a beer garden in conjunction with Voodoo Brewing Co. and food from InsideOut Cookie, Classic Cones and Brazilian Munchies.
Tuesday’s block party will tie in with the borough’s ongoing Pride Month celebration through a drag-themed flea market. Partnering with State College’s LGBTQ community was an easy decision, Quinn said.
“As a space, we’re really a second home for lots of the queer community, and we’re a frequent partner with the Centre LGBTQA Support Network,” Quinn said. “When we started imagining having this big, end-of-the-month celebration, it felt like a very natural extension of the work we’re already doing on a weekly basis.”
Justin Dorsey, 3 Dots’ assistant director, said future events will likely be themed around country and punk-rock music in July and August, respectively. The organization is still ironing out details for the summer’s remaining block parties.
Brainstorming for such an event began as major COVID-19 concerns subsided over the past year or so. 3 Dots organizers saw a need for a community event that would encourage engagement while more traditional spaces, including those indoors, were still limited by capacity or safety guidelines. Naturally, they sought to bring things outside.
Quinn and Dorsey said 3 Dots’ planned Pugh Street Shutdowns are a sequel of sorts to the organization’s Tuesdays on the Terrace event series, which began last summer. In some ways, it’s also a spiritual successor to State College’s stalled Summers on Allen initiative, which once sought to turn the 100 block of South Allen Street into a pedestrian mall for two months in the summer. Summers on Allen was postponed indefinitely at the onset of the pandemic, and the program’s Facebook page hasn’t been updated since April 2020.
While community engagement remains 3 Dots’ overarching goal, each Pugh Street Shutdown also hopes to provide accessible entertainment opportunities that everyone could enjoy. Quinn said 3 Dots’ team specifically designed the outdoor event to welcome community members who might not have access to more traditional entertainment options.
“We think a lot about the kinds of architecture that prevents people from entering spaces where arts and experiences are happening, like a columned museum with steps or large-scale performance space. Those kinds of things can inhibit people from feeling like they’re able to enter,” Quinn said. “We try to extend our programming to welcome people from the street. We really are in the business of trying to meet people where they are and extending an invitation with live music and a street festival. Everybody knows what to do with that.”
While a monthly block party can do only so much, Quinn says 3 Dots views the event series as a stepping stone in a larger initiative to serve the State College community and provide entertainment options for all.
“There are groups or folks who don’t feel they have the accessibility at an event. Our goal is always trying to go into the community as far as we can to actively listen and build connections,” Quinn said. “This is an invitation that will be fun and celebratory for the community. It’s one step in that much longer process.”
