STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The 57th annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts returns to the streets of downtown State College and Penn State’s University Park campus, from Wednesday, July 12, through Sunday, July 16. Founded by the State College Chamber of Commerce and Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture, the festival attracts approximately 125,000 visitors each summer.

The 2023 festival kicks off with Children and Youth Day, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. on July 12, with the annual Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale featuring young artists. The day of children and youth activities, dance, music and theater will culminate at 4 p.m. with the annual Grand Procession of giant papier-maché puppets, a march from Old Main Lawn to Sidney Friedman Park accompanied by drummers and a pep band from State College Area High School.

On Thursday, July 13, the Annual Juried Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition takes center stage, featuring more than 300 independent artist-entrepreneurs from across the country. The Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition hours are: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 13 through Saturday, July 15; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 16.

Live performances begin on Wednesday, July 12, and will continue throughout the weekend, finishing out the festival at 3 p.m. on Sunday with local favorite band Velveeta performing on the Festival Shell Stage on the Old Main Lawn.

For more information and to see the full schedule of festival performances and activities, visit arts-festival.com.

Penn State Transportation Services has released information on parking, traffic and transit impacts related to the 2023 festival.

Road closures and parking adjustments

Beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, and continuing through 5 p.m. Sunday, July 16, Burrowes Road will be closed from College Avenue to Curtin Road, and Pollock Road will be closed from Burrowes Road to McAlister Building. 

Due to these road closures, access to the following faculty/staff parking areas will be impacted beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday: 

• Access to all sections of Lot Brown A, as well as the Hammond Building loading dock, will be available from College Avenue only, with vehicles traveling north on Burrowes Road, then turning right onto the driveway between Reber Building and Hammond. The bollards that separate Brown A from the driveway between Reber and Hammond will be removed during the Arts Festival. Exit from the lot and loading dock will be available only through this driveway back to College Avenue. 
• Access to Old Main will be available only by traveling west on Pollock Road from Shortlidge Road or Bigler Road. The gates on Pollock Road just east of Old Main will be raised, and Auxiliary officers will be posted restricting traffic to authorized vehicles only. 
• Access to Lot Brown E and the service permit parking spaces at Carnegie Building will be available only by traveling south on Fraser Road from Curtin Road. An auxiliary officer will be on site to restrict access to authorized vehicles only.
• Access to all Red K parking areas will only be available via the entrance located along Atherton Street at the 101 North Atherton Street Building. This requires northbound travel from College Avenue. Vehicles exiting Red K must exit through the 101 North Atherton Street Building parking lot onto Atherton Street and proceed northbound. 
• Access to Lot Red H (Noll Lab) and Lot Green C will be available only by traveling south on Burrowes Road from Curtin Road. Auxiliary officers will be on site to restrict access to authorized vehicles only. 

Arts festival visitor parking

Arts Fest visitor parking will be available at the West Deck from Wednesday, July 12, through Sunday, July 16. Please see below for daily parking rates:

• Wednesday, July 12: $1 per hour  
• Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14:
  • Less than 2 hours: $1 per hour 
  • 2-10 hours: $10  
  • More than 10 hours: $1 per hour  
• Saturday, July 15, and Sunday, July 16: $10 all day, regardless of the length of time parked 

These areas will remain available to Penn State permit holders at no charge on weekdays after 4 p.m. and all day on Saturday and Sunday.

Arts festival shuttle

Transportation Services will offer a complementary blue bus shuttle service from the West Deck to downtown State College with pick up and drop off at the College Ave./Allen St. CATA stop. Please see below for the shuttle service schedule:  

• Wednesday, July 12: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 
• Thursday, July 13: 9 a.m.–11 p.m. 
• Friday, July 14: 9 a.m.–11 p.m. 
• Saturday, July 15: 9 a.m.–11 p.m. 
• Sunday, July 16: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 

Transit changes

All CATA bus stops on Burrowes Road located between College Avenue and Curtin Road and on Burrowes Street will be closed from Wednesday, July 12, through Sunday, July 16. Visit www.catabus.com for more information regarding Arts Fest schedule adjustments. 

Campus Shuttle via College Avenue stops 9 (Reber Building) 10 (Westgate/Hosler), and 11 (Rec Hall) will also be closed on Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14. The closest available Campus Shuttle via College Avenue stops will be stops 8 (College Avenue/Allen Street) and 12 (Pattee Library).

Download the Penn State Go app for real-time Campus CATA and Campus Shuttle information.

Further questions about parking and traffic may be directed to: Parking questions, parking@psu.edu; CATA information, https://catabus.com/; Campus Shuttle and Arts Fest shuttle questions, shuttles@psu.edu.