Over the past 59 years, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has become one of the top-ranked juried art fairs in the country, the highlight of the State College summer, one of the biggest non-football alumni weekends for Penn Staters, the summer’s economic anchor for downtown State College businesses, and the place to be for art, music, and fun the week after Independence Day.

For many of the 125,000+ visitors and hundreds of volunteers each year, the Arts Festival is an enduring tradition, experienced with friends and family, and not to be missed.  Please explore this site to learn more about the many facets of Arts Fest.

Schedule of Events:

10:00am - 11:00am - Packard Highland Dancers & Nittany Highlanders

Join the Packard Highland Dancers & the Nittany Highlanders bagpipers as they represent Scottish culture through dance and music. The Packard Highland Dancers and Nittany Highlanders will be performing culturally

Location: Sidney Friedman Park 241 South Fraser Street, State College

10:00am - 11:00am - Yoga Lab

Come experience our kid-friendly yoga and meditation with an emphasis on mindfulness and functional movement to promote physical and mental well-being.

Location: Old Main Lawn 100 W. College Avenue, State College

10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Children & Youth Day Sidewalk Sale

Young people are bursting with energy—artistic and otherwise. The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale is a fun way for boys and girls to express themselves visually.  CPFA encourages young people

Location: South Allen Street

10:00am - 2:00pm - Cultural Showcase

Wednesday Cultural Line-up   Packard Highland Dancers & Nittany Highlanders 10:00 a.m. Join the Packard Highland Dancers & the Nittany Highlanders bagpipers as they represent Scottish culture through dance and music

Location: Sidney Friedman Park 241 South Fraser Street, State College

10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Chip Mock Caricatures

Chip Mock grew up in Johnstown, Pa., admiring and drawing funny likenesses from an early age, inspired by artists John Johns, Norman Rockwell, Mort Drucker, and Al Hirshfield.

Location: South Allen Street

11:00 am - 12:00 pm - CC4H Robotics

Come out to the Arts Festival Children’s Day event and interact with students from all three divisions of CC4H Robotics. Experience the excitement of our STEM program as we demonstrate

Location: Festival Shell Stage 100 W. College Avenue, State College

11:30 am - 12:30 pm - Adam Swartz Puppets

Calling all adventurers! Join puppets and people on an exciting quest in this interactive show created by the audience. Work together to tell a unique story that changes 

Location: Allen Street Stage 123 S Allen St, State College

12:00pm - 1:00pm - Allegheny Ukulele Kollective

Founded in 2010, the Allegheny Ukulele Kollective is a ukulele enthusiast-slash-evangelist club based in Altoona and State College. Over the years, people of all ages and abilities have jammed together...

Location: Sidney Friedman Park 241 South Fraser Street, State College

1:00pm - 2:00pm - Black Cat Belly Dance

Shannon Bishop is a professional Egyptian-style dancer based in State College, PA and the Artistic Director of Black Cat Belly Dance, central Pennsylvania's only dance school devoted to Egyptian dance....

Location: Sidney Friedman Park 241 South Fraser Street, State College

1:00pm - 2:00pm - CC4H Robotics

Come out to the Arts Festival Children’s Day event and interact with students from all three divisions of CC4H Robotics. Experience the excitement of our STEM program as we demonstrate

Location: Festival Shell Stage 100 W. College Avenue, State College

1:00pm - 2:00pm - Suzuki Strings at Arts Fest

Come enjoy an inspiring performance by talented young violin and cello students, ages 5 and up, trained in the Suzuki Method! Experience the joyful sounds of strings through timeless classics

Location: Allen Street Stage 123 S Allen St, State College

3:00pm - 3:30pm - Children & Youth Day Grand Procession

3 p.m., beginning at Old Main Lawn NEW TIME Distribution of procession pieces will begin at 2:15 p.m. Our popular procession features an array of small, medium and giant-sized puppets

Location: Old Main Lawn 100 W. College Avenue, State College

4:00pm - 5:00pm - The Superman Cartoons of Max Fleischer

The State Theatre presents a special showcase of the Max Fleischer 'Superman' cartoons on the big screen! Long revered among the best of the superhero cartoons, these films are presented in newly restored 4K resolution.

Location: State Theatre 130 West College Avenue, State College