This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
CENTRE HALL — The annual People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts will celebrate its 30th anniversary from Thursday, July 11, to Sunday, July 14.
This year’s celebration marks a significant milestone in the Centre County community. The festival, which started as a small local event, has grown into a Centre County tradition, drawing in more than 110,000 visitors from near and far to celebrate the arts, music, food and more.
“Our festival provides the opportunity to shop from and celebrate quality Pennsylvania artists, and enjoy a family-oriented setting,” Amy Madison, People’s Choice publicity director, said. “We believe it is vital to stay connected to the people who make things, to actually meet them and talk about their work. It’s so easy to order something cheap online but those objects don’t have the heart or the story that something handmade, that you get right from the artist in your community, does.”
Established in 1993, the festival has evolved over the years. While the Boalsburg Military Museum grounds served as the home of the festival for many years, a steep increase in rental fees for the four-day festival and the one-year contract that the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission offered, which did not include the possibility of hosting the event on the state-owned museum’s property beyond 2022, caused festival organizers to create a new home for the festival.
Since 2022, the festival has made a new home for itself at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall, providing event organizers with the opportunity to develop and improve what the festival offers.
“Although it was not our decision to move, we were slowly outgrowing our previous site. Parking was especially tricky. The Grange offered a similar site only a few minutes away,” Madison explained. “It does provide the festival with much more parking, camping for families who want to make the festival a mini vacation and a central location in the state.”
The extra space allows for the festival to include over 200 artisans, a wide variety of food vendors, live performances and activities for all ages. The festival aims to provide a platform for local artisans, showcasing a diverse array of handmade goods, from pottery and jewelry to paintings and woodwork.
“We have always maintained high standards for our vendors. We do not allow buy/sell vendors and we jury our artists to provide the best PA has to offer,” Madison said. “We pay attention to detail in order to make the festival space easy to navigate, even for those with mobility issues. We’ve offered shuttle carts to help people get around for years. We’ve always tried to make sure there is something beautiful and affordable for everyone.”
Madison noted that support from sponsors like Re/Max Centre Realty and Stuckey Mitsubishi have helped the event thrive.
Parking for this year’s event is free for all visitors and is sponsored by Bath Fitter. In place of the previous parking fee, the event is asking for donations of nonperishable foods, which will be collected throughout the festival and donated to a local food bank upon completion of the event.
In addition to the artisans, an array of family friendly activities will be put on for attendees of all ages to enjoy.
“The kids’ area will have our Youth Sales Tent — the opportunity to foster future artists; Dominion Science Center — hands on science for kids of all ages; Simplicity’s Wonder World — a talented artist who creates balloon creatures for the kids; the State College Access Church — providing face painting all four days. Last but not least, Centre Entertainment with 75 feet of bouncy houses and slides,” Madison shared, noting that there will be two new special additions for festival goers this year.
From 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, Shavers Creek Environmental Center will put on an Environmental Reptile Show, where children can learn about reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. The second new event will be from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, by The Xerces Society. Using games and materials, visitors can learn about invertebrates and how to protect them and their environment.
A wide range of concessions will be available, and for those attendees 21 and older, 10 wineries will have tents to give tastings of their products.
And to celebrate turning 30, a special 30th-anniversary tent will be set up, featuring memorabilia from the last three decades of the tradition.
“Thanks to our friends at State College Framing Company, we are featuring a 30th-anniversary tent, packed full of memories from past festivals — photos and memorabilia,” Madison said. “We’ll be serving up a very special 30th-anniversary cake on Saturday at 2 p.m., provided by Delectable Delights of Centre Hall. Attendees should stop by the information booth and pick up a commemorative 30th-anniversary tote bag, sponsored by Fullington Tours.”
For more information on the People’s Choice Festival, see The Centre County Gazette’s special edition inserted into the regular paper on Wednesday, July 3.
“We invite our many friends and families to come out to the festival to visit their favorite artists and meet new ones; enjoy the free entertainment; enjoy fantastic food; and have a relaxing visit away from the hustle and bustle,” Madison said.
