What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University:

Performances

"Bach's Lunch" — 12:10 p.m., Sept. 7, Eisenhower Chapel, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, University Park campus. "Bach's Lunch" is a weekly concert series during the school year. Concerts are brief in order to make it possible for the University community to attend during the lunch hour. Free.

"Bluey's Big Play" — 6:30 p.m., Sept. 7, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Grab the sticky geckos, break out the duck cakes and alert the grannies! The much-loved Heeler family will make its first live appearance in Happy Valley with "Bluey's Big Play," a live stage adaptation of the Emmy Award-winning animated children's show.

The Rhapsody Series: "Then and Now" — 4-5 p.m., Sept. 10, 30 Recital Hall, Music Building, University Park campus. The Rhapsody Series, a curated recital series through the School of Music, kicks off with "Then and Now," where voice area faculty will perform pieces that were significant early in their careers and new works that are currently inspiring them. Free.

Move Mix Festival — 5 p.m., Sept. 12, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The Center for the Performing Arts multicultural Move Mix Festival, featuring Red Baraat, will celebrate traditional Indian and contemporary Latin dance and modern bhangra music in an exploration of global sounds united by percussive beats and danceable rhythms. Free.

Events

9/11 events and memorials — Various dates and locations. Events are being offered for Penn State campus and community members across the commonwealth in remembrance of those who lost their lives during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their aftermath. Free.

"AI for Good Expo" — 5-8 p.m., Sept. 7, Alumni Hall, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The "AI for Good Expo," hosted by the Nittany AI Alliance, will explore how AI can be used to achieve goals and solve real-world problems. The event will showcase ways to use AI for good in areas of education, environment, health and humanitarianism.

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" — 7:30 p.m., Sept. 8, Pullo Center, York campus. The York campus and community is invited to travel across the spider-verse with a showing of “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse” on campus. The event is sponsored by the University Programming Board. Free.

Global Oscars Comes to Berks: "Holy Spider" — 6:15 p.m., Sept. 12, Luerssen Science Building, Berks campus. As part of its Global Oscars Comes to Berks series, Penn State Berks presents the film “Holy Spider,” a Danish-Iranian film directed by Ali Abbasi. The film follows a journalist who travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad and investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so-called “Spider Killer.”

"Paper and Plants: They are connected!" — 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Sept. 14, the Arboretum, University Park campus. Members from Penn State University Libraries’ Conservation Centre will lead hands-on papermaking sessions and teach attendees how to use recycled paper fibers and plant fibers, such as flower petals and garden vegetables, to make new handmade paper. Free.

8th Annual Harvest Fest — 4-7 p.m., Sept. 14, Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm, University Park campus. Campus and community members are invited to the Harvest Fest to spend an evening learning about the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm and celebrating the fall season. The event will feature music, food samples and assorted activities. Free.

Lectures

Football Fridays: Doug Allen — 4 p.m., Sept. 8, 113 Carnegie Building, University Park campus. Doug Allen, Penn State alumnus and football letterman, is the next speaker in Penn State's Football Fridays question-and-answer series. Allen is a former assistant executive director of the NFLPA and a former national executive director of SAG. Free.

"The American Powwow at Penn State" — 12-1 p.m., Sept. 12, Zoom. John Sanchez (Nde [Apache] Yaqui), associate professor of journalism at Penn State, will give a presentation on the history of The Penn State Traditional American Indian Powwow and the upcoming 18th annual event that is scheduled for February 2024. Free.

Peter Bhatia lecture and Q&A — 6:30 p.m., Sept. 12, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Peter Bhatia will present a public lecture and participate in a question-and-answer session about the changing landscape of journalism. Bhatia is the CEO of Houston Landing, a nonprofit, digital-only outlet funded by local philanthropy. Free.

In-person exhibits 

"Sad Purple and Mauve: A History of Dye-Making" — Sept. 14 through Jan. 15, Special Collections exhibition space, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. The science, art and history and textile and paper dyes and their uses in books and manuscripts will be the focus of this exhibit. The opening will take place from 4-6 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, and is free and open to the public.

“Anacostia Portraits” — Through Sept. 22, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The HUB-Robeson Galleries presents “Anacostia Portraits,” an exhibition of tintype photographs by Elana Volkova, on view in Art Alley through Sept. 22. 

“Interplay” — Through Oct. 5, McLanahan Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Interplay will display artwork from Ivyside Juried Art Exhibition winner Morgan Thomas Shankweiler’s “By-Chance Connection” series, “Tie Formation” series, and her newest exploration of indeterminacy. 

“Viet Kitsch: Lacquer Luster” — Through Oct. 5, Sheetz Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Ivyside Juried Art Exhibition winner Millian Pham intertwines her native Vietnamese culture with her adopted American culture through imagery and text.

"Evan Pugh: Student to Scientist" — Through October, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery, Deike Building, University Park campus. The exhibit explores two distinct stages in the life of Evan Pugh, Penn State's first president. Free.

Gall wasps exhibit — Through October, Frost Entomological Museum, University Park campus. This new exhibit is aimed at cultivating awareness about gall wasps and showcasing their beauty and diversity. Free.

"Black Feminist Embodiments of Self-Love and Self-Recovery" —  Through Nov. 20. Inspired by a scene in Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," set in Ohio prior to Emancipation, the exhibition displays sources of self-love and self-recovery found in a variety of literature by and about Black women. Free.

“Andrea Doria: Dive to An Era” — Through Nov. 30, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. The Friedman Art Gallery will feature a collection of items recovered on more than 200 dives to the shipwreck of the Andrea Doria. Diver and author Gary Gentile has recovered dishes, cups, glasses, plates, jewelry, ceramic panels created by the internationally known artist Romano Rui and more. 

"I Am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II" — Through June 2025, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. Timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the conflict, "I Am a Penn Stater" chronicles the contributions of Nittany Lion varsity lettermen and Women’s Recreation Association athletes during the conflict and follows their service from training in the United States, to fighting on battlefields around the globe, to their postwar occupations. Free.

Virtual exhibits

In addition to in-person events, a number of virtual exhibits are available through University departments. The Palmer Museum of Art and University Libraries offer a rotating selection of historical and artistic collections to view online. 

Current exhibitions include an examination of women’s athletics at Penn State and Title IX, editorial cartoons from The Jerry Doyle Papers, and an exploration of the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic.