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Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts™ State College, Pennsylvania July 12-15, 2012 ~ Children and Youth Day July 11, 2012 |
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2011 FESTIVAL PRESS RELEASES
17 June 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Rick Bryant, Executive Director
The 45th annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts™ will take place Wednesday, July 13 through Sunday, July 17, 2011 on the streets of downtown State College and the adjacent Penn State campus. Founded by the State College Chamber of Commerce and Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture, the Festival attracts about 125,000 visitors each summer. The Festival features the nationally recognized Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, the juried gallery exhibition Images, Children and Youth Day, the Downtown State College Italian Street Painting Festival, BookFestPA, and music, dance and theatrical performances in a variety of outdoor and indoor venues.
The 2011 Festival of the Arts commences with Children and Youth Day on Wednesday, July 13, which features programs and events designed especially for the young and young at heart. From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. the Children & Youth Sidewalk Sale, sponsored by Penn State Federal Credit Union, will be held on South Allen Street. An estimated 150 young Central Pennsylvania artists are expected to proudly showcase their original works as Festival participants.
Other Children and Youth Day activities include free arts and crafts workshops on the Old Main Lawn and in State College’s Sidney Friedman Park. Musical and dance performances tailored to the young will take place at various stages around town thanks to local student ensembles and performing arts schools.
However, for some, the highlight of the day will come at 4:00 p.m. with the 2011 Children and Youth Day Grand Procession. Over 300 children (accompanied by some parents) will carry small, medium and large hand-crafted papier-mâché puppets, vibrant masks and drums. The procession will begin on the Old Main lawn and travel through downtown State College as it makes its way to Sidney Friedman Park.
Something new in 2011 is the Pat Farrell Community Sing Along, on Wednesday, July 13. For many years State College residents came together for a weekly "community sing" each week during the summer, with the director of Penn State’s Glee Club and the director of The Blue Band. This fun tradition disappeared in the 1970's, but the Festival is bringing it back this year, in memory of Pat Farrell, a former Arts Festival board president who died in November 2010. Young and old, those who can sing, and especially those who can’t carry a tune in a bucket, are invited to join former Penn State Glee Club conductor Douglas Miller and Essence of Joy director Tony Leach in the State College Presbyterian Church, at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 13, as we come together to make some joyful noise. It promises to be a fun evening of traditional favorites, folk songs, camp ditties, and perhaps a show tune or two. The event is free.
Another new event is the Penn State NU Musical Theatre workshop performances in the Citizens Bank Downtown Theatre. Audience members will have the opportunity to see workshop style performances—that is no sets, no costumes, and minimal staging—of three new shows. These include Bubble Boy the Musical, The Giver, and How Can You Run With A Shell on Your Back? (CPFA Button Required)
On Thursday, July 14 at 10:00 a.m. the 45th annual Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition will open. Sidewalk Sale hours are 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The works of more than 300 exhibitors are consistently ranked as one of the top juried outdoor fine art and craft shows in the nation. Festival goers will shop for baskets, ceramics, jewelry, paintings and more. A panel of 5 jurors will award over $17,000 in prize money to winning exhibitors during a ceremony at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 16 at the Allen Street Stage.
An annual favorite, the CPFA Silent Auction is successful thanks to the generosity of our exhibitors and eager browsing patrons. The 2011 Silent Auction will be located on the 100 block of South Allen Street. It will be open Thursday, July 14 from noon to 8:00 p.m.; Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, July 17 from noon to 5:00 p.m. It can be used as a starting point to see a sampling of various fine art and craft in the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition. Proceeds of the Silent Auction help to defray the costs of the Festival. The Silent Auction is sponsored by Corvette America.
The 2011 Downtown State College Improvement District Italian Street Painting Festival honors the 16th century Italian tradition of using special chalks to paint on the street. The Italian Street Painting Festival transforms the 100 block of Heister Street in downtown State College, painted by artists of national and regional significance. For a $5 fee, the Young Artists Alley, sponsored by Nittany Gymnastics Academy, also gives children the opportunity to create a 1-foot-square street painting. The 2011 Italian Street Painting Festival is sponsored by the Downtown State College Improvement District, and takes place July 14 through 17.
BookFestPA, celebrating books and literacy, returns after a huge success last year. BookFestPA will showcase authors of mysteries with An Afternoon of Mystery featuring Nancy Martin, Tamar Myers, and Lisa Scottoline. BookFestPA will also present science fiction author Daryl Gregory, young adult writers Cyn Balog and Josh Berk, children’s author Lindsay Barrett George, among others. New this year will be the BookFest tent, where on Saturday, July 16, the public can meet and buy books from more than twenty local authors. BookFestPA programs will be held in Schlow Centre Region Library’s Downsbrough Room, the State College Presbyterian Church, and the Hintz Family Alumni Center on Saturday, July 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All programs are free of charge. For more information see www.bookfestpa.org.
The New York Times called The Gizmo Guys “master jugglers with ebullient energy and exquisite skill. . . . human virtuosity with a touch of lunacy.” The Gizmo Guys, otherwise known as Allan Jacobs and Barrett Felker, have amazed and amused audiences around the world. They’ve played in more venues than you can shake a stick at--you name it, they've done it. And in their spare time, they've made television appearances, won international juggling competitions, and taught at top circus schools. Their act is filled with a frothy combination of infectious humor and dazzling technique. They will perform in Schwab Auditorium on Wednesday, July 13 at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (CPFA button required.)
The performance by The Frank Vignola Trio will be a chance to see one of the most accomplished, multi-dimensional guitar players in music today. The performance will be Thursday, July 14th at 8:00 p.m. at Schwab Auditorium. Vignola’s virtuosity mixes high-energy, unique renditions of famous classical pieces, great American popular songs and contemporary tunes. (CPFA button required.)
We are especially delighted to present The DePue Brothers, the well known musical iconic family from northwest Ohio.These violinist brothers encompass a vivid blend of bluegrass, classical, and rock genres. Wallace and Alex DePue merge brilliant technical prowess with a highly creative joy. With additional musicians, The DePue Brothers Band takes bluegrass to an entirely new level. You won’t want to miss their incredible virtuosity and energy as they deliver a powerful mix of classical, bluegrass, and rock and roll. in Schwab Auditorium on July 16 at 8:00 p.m. (CPFA button required.)
On Saturday, July 16, The Guy Mendilow Band will make ancient music relevant to today’s audiences by recasting it through the lens of modern migrations. Drawn from the places Mendilow and his musicians have called home, from Israel and Brazil to Japan and the United States, the resulting music is a blend of haunting Sephardi, driven with Brazilian street beats and tempered with blues. The band will play in Sidney Friedman Park at 9:30 p.m.
The AccuWeather.com Youth Stage in Sidney Friedman Park will feature exhilarating performances from July 14-16. Performers will include The Show Twirlers, and the contestants in the Clare Dahlia Snetsinger Performance Scholarship competition, and the Tirna Nog Dancers. Since its first performance at the Festival in 2006, Essence of Joy’s appearance has come to be a highlight of the Festival for both music lovers and casual listeners. The Essence of Joy Alumni Singers, alumni of the Essence of Joy choir in Penn State’s School of Music, will be directed by Dr. Anthony T. Leach and will perform sacred and secular music from the African and African-American tradition. They will perform in State College Presbyterian Church at 7:00 p.m. on July 15. The performance is sponsored by Barbara Palmer. (CPFA Button Required)
While most performances are free, some require a festival button. Buttons cost $10.00 for adults while the children’s button is $5.00 for kids 6-11 (admission for children under 5 is free). Buttons are good for the entire festival and grant admission to all indoor events. Buttons are available at each performance venue, at many locations on the Festival route, in downtown State College stores, and online at www.arts-festival.com.
Daily highlights include:
Wednesday, July 13 - Children & Youth Day:
Thursday, July 14:
There is convenient parking at the Bryce Jordan Center – Jordan East parking lot for $5 per car per day and bus fare is free. Bus service from the Bryce Jordan Center will stop at the Downtown State College Italian Street Painting Festival, or in the heart of the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition at the Allen St./College Ave. stop.
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is supported in part by grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.
Additional funding is provided through a grant made by possible by the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors’ Bureau and the Centre County Commissioners.
Please visit our frequently updated website at www.arts-festival.com for additional information.
22 June 2011
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts announced the prize winners in Images 2011, the Festival’s annual indoor exhibition of fine art and fine craft. The juror for this year’s exhibition was
“This year’s Images submissions showed great talent and enormous variety. Our audience is going to see some great stuff in this show, ” said Rick Bryant, Executive Director of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
The exhibition is open in the Robeson Gallery from June 8 through July 17, 2011 and is free to the public. The Robeson Gallery is located in the HUB-Robeson Center on Penn State’s University Park campus; hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and the gallery is closed Sunday and Monday. The gallery hours will be extended during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, July 13 through 17. The extended hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. the Wednesday through Saturday, and noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The gallery will be closed during the July 4 weekend.
The Revington Arthur Award for Excellence in Painting was awarded to Stephen March, of Spring Grove, PA, for his acrylic painting Surveillance 03/06/2008. This award, which includes a $300 honorarium, is sponsored by the Revington Arthur Foundation.
The William D. Davis Award in Drawing was awarded to Nancy Palfey of Bellefonte, PA , for her work, My Alter Ego. The Davis Award includes a $300 honorarium.
Awards of Merit, each worth $250, were given to:
Marcia DeCamp, Palmyra, NY
Ruth Jourjine, Titusville, NJ
Nancy Middlebrook, Philadelphia, PA
Diane Paroda, State College, PA
Mary Lou Pepe, Boalsburg, PA
For more information about the exhibition and gallery, please visit http://www.arts-festival.com/images.php and http://www.sa.psu.edu/usa/galleries/.
15 April 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Rick Bryant, Executive Director (814) 237-3682
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has issued the Call for Entries for its Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale, a signature event of the Children’s Day Activities of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will be from July 13 through July 17 on the streets of State College and on the adjacent campus of Penn State. The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale will be held on South Allen Street, on Children and Youth Day, Wednesday, July 13, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale is a fun way for children to sell original artwork that they have made and perhaps earn some money in the process.
Children from ages 8 to 18 who live in, or who have relatives in Centre, Blair, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin or Union are eligible to participate in the Children’s Sidewalk Sale. The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale is subject to very simple rules. For example, each artist must make his or her own work. Items made from kits are not permitted.
There is a $15.00 entry fee. The application postmark deadline is June 24, 2011. Applications postmarked after that date will not be considered. Applications may be delivered to the Festival offices at 403 South Allen Street, Suite 205A, State College until 5:00 PM on Friday, June 24, 2011.
Applications may now be downloaded at www.arts-festival.com. To receive an application by mail, telephone the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts at (814) 237-3682.
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale is sponsored by the Penn State Federal Credit Union.
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