The 57th Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts kicks off TODAY with our special Children and Youth Day from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. This day is devoted to young artists, young performers, and the young at heart. On this special day, young artists will be selling their wares at the Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale, with a record breaking 283 young artists ages 8 to 18.

Young musicians, dancers, and comics will perform throughout the day on the Allen Street Stage and the Festival Shell on Old Main Lawn. New this year, families can enjoy a Baby Rave, hosted in partnership with 3-Dots, in Sydney Friedman Park at 10:00am; or you may choose to head down the rabbit hole with Alice in An Alice and Wonderland Adventure, an interactive experience, hosted in partnership with Tempest Productions.

Young visitors can also explore their artistic talents through free creative activities in Sidney Friedman Park and on the Old Main lawn starting at 10:00 a.m.

Finally, everyone in the family can choose their favorite giant puppet and march in the Children & Youth Day Grand Procession of giant (and not so giant) papier-mache puppets from Old Main Lawn to Sidney Friedman Park, accompanied by drummers and a pep band from State College Area High School. The procession steps off at 4:00 p.m. from the Old Main lawn.

The day is a great way to see how talented and creative young people can be. Of course, it’s also a great day to bring your little ones to the Festival to let them blow off some steam in the dumping buckets water sculpture too!

The lineup for Children & Youth Day at the Festival includes:

Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop - 1:00 PM - Festival Shell Stage
The Dance Loft - 2:30 PM - Festival Shell Stage
Centre Dance Studio - 4:30 PM - Festival Shell Stage
North by Southwest - 2:30 PM - Allen Street Stage
Baby Rave - 10:00 AM - Sidney Friedman Park Stage
Children & Youth Day Procession at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts - 4:00 PM - Old Main Lawn
Pat Farrell Community Sing-Along - 7:30 PM - State College Presbyterian Church

We encourage visitors to use Penn State’s West Parking Deck on White Course Drive near the IST Building and use free bus service to get to and from the event.  Parking is $1/hour for the first two hours and $10 for between two and ten hours, cash and credit cards accepted. Free bus service will be available from the West Parking Deck to the center of the Festival at the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street. Patrons may walk from the West Parking Deck to the Festival zone. It is approximately ½ mile, a ten-minute walk.

In downtown State College, there are municipal parking garages on Beaver Avenue, Fraser Street, and Pugh Street. During the Festival, the hourly rate is $2.25 per hour or any portion thereof with a maximum daily rate of $32.

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.

The mission of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is to celebrate the arts with presentations of diverse, high-quality visual and performing arts through the cooperative volunteer support of the community and The Pennsylvania State University. The essence of this organization is the enrichment and education of the audience, grounded in personal interaction between artist and audience.

This Festival has grown because of the collaborative spirit of the Centre County communities, numerous sponsors (https://arts-festival.com/sponsors), Penn State University, the Borough of State College, a dedicated volunteer board, more than 600 devoted volunteers, and a dynamic and passionate staff. We look forward to seeing YOU at this year’s Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts!