The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is pleased to introduce Pamela Snyder Etters as the organization’s new Executive Director.

“On behalf of the entire Board and the hundreds of volunteers who support the Arts Festival, we are excited and ready to assist Pam as she leads our great staff towards a bright future and new ideas for our beloved festival. With her expertise, I am confident Pam will build on the impressive legacy of former Executive Director Rick Bryant,” says Carolyn Donaldson, President of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts Board of Directors.

Pam comes to Centre County from neighboring Blair County, where she has served as the Executive Director of Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania for the past two years. Prior to that she was the Executive Director of the Altoona Symphony Orchestra for nearly nine years. Gains in organizational and financial management were key results of Pam’s tenure with these organizations.

As an artist herself, Pam combines her experience in arts-related nonprofit leadership with her belief in the arts as a platform for youth empowerment and social connection. She is the founder and lead muralist within the Murals Talk Foundation—a program that uses mural construction to build bridges over cultural, social, and economic gaps for youth.

Pam is also the head women’s soccer coach at the Altoona campus of the Pennsylvania State University and involved in several Altoona community and cultural associations, such as Arts Altoona, the City of Altoona Beautification Committee, Explore Altoona, and the Blair 9/11 Committee.

“There are no words to adequately express the amount of enthusiasm with which I enter my new role as Executive Director with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, says Pamela Snyder Etters. Rick Bryant has left me some big shoes to fill, but I am excited to work with the staff and board to uphold the strong traditions of the festival while navigating the need to adapt to modern societal preferences.”

Founded in 1967 by the State College Chamber of Commerce and Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts attracts approximately 100,000 visitors each summer. In addition to the nationally recognized Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition the Festival features a juried gallery exhibition, Children and Youth Day, street painting, and music, dance, and theatrical performances on both outdoor and indoor stages.

The 2023 Festival will open on July 12, 2023, with Children and Youth Day. The Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition will open on Thursday, July 13 and continue through Sunday, July 16.

In addition to its namesake summer Festival, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts produces First Night State College, a family-friendly celebration of the New Year’s holiday held in downtown State College on December 31. First Night features a large display of ice sculpture, musical and theatrical performances, resolution sculptures, and a 5K resolution run.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and additional grant support from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and Centre County Commissioners.

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