Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts

Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts
Downtown State College during the Arts Fest
Frequency	annually
Location(s)	State College, Pennsylvania
Years active	50
Inaugurated	1967
Website
Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts (officially abbreviated as CPFA) is held each year in State College, Pennsylvania and on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. Penn State students commonly refer to the event as Arts Fest.

The first Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts was held in July 1967, and lasted nine days. Sponsored by Penn State's College of Arts and Architecture and the State College Chamber of Commerce, the first Festival was opened by Governor Raymond P. Shafer. Musical performances took place downtown and on campus, and the first Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition consisted of people hanging work on snow fence along "The Wall" on the southern border of the Old Main lawn. The show wasn't originally juried, so one could purchase art created by professionals and amateurs. Patrons could even buy kittens.

The festival is now five days long, from Wednesday through Sunday in early July each year, and the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition is now professionally juried. A large portion of the event takes place in the Borough of State College, PA, and the remainder on the adjacent University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts placed at number five on the list of Top 10 Summer Festivals 2013 by Livability.com, a national website that ranks quality of life and travel amenities of America’s small and mid-sized cities

The festival is governed by a Board of Directors, half of whom must have an affiliation with Penn State ("gown"), while the other half represents the "town" interests. The Board employs a staff of three to manage both the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and First Night State College. The board established the mission of the festival which 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." Approximately 400 volunteers help bring the Festival to life each summer.

The first day of the Festival is always Children and Youth Day. It features the Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale, free children’s art and craft workshops, and performances by and for young people on two outdoor and one indoor stage.

Consistently ranked as one of the top outdoor fine art and fine craft shows in the nation, the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition brings artists and craftspeople from across the nation to State College. More than three hundred exhibitors will offer a wide variety of objects for sale including baskets, ceramics, jewelry, fiber, painting, photography, and wearable art. There will be something to suit everyone’s taste and pocketbook.