You can’t imagine how happy I was when I learned that the Festival would be permitted to have live audiences at performances this summer. After a year of presenting the Arts Festival and our winter event, A December to Remember, virtually, I jump for joy even when taking a baby step back to pre-pandemic life.
In case you missed the news, we’re presenting eleven musical groups at the State College Presbyterian Church, 132 W. Beaver Avenue, State College, from Thursday, July 8 through Saturday, July 10, 2021. To answer the most frequently asked question: it’s the church by the post office–across Fraser Street from the Beaver Avenue parking garage.
We’ve a super lineup of your favorite performers, from the low brass folks of Below Centre, to singer-songwriter Jon Rounds. I’m not sure when Jon first performed at the Festival, but as a former member of Cartoon, he’s performed for more people at the Festival than any other person.
The final performance of the event, at 9:00 p.m., Saturday is an evening of jazz by Bill Carter and the PresbyBop Quartet. Bill and the guys will also be playing on Sunday morning during the worship service at the church–where wristbands won’t be required.
Instead of our traditional Festival button, admission this year will be by wristband, available at the door. Wristbands, which are good for the entire three-day event, are $10 and will be required for individuals 12 and older. Audiences will be limited to 250 people. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. Purchase of a wristband does not guarantee a seat.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to tick boxes ahead of time, you may purchase wristbands in advance at the Festival office. We’re at 403 S. Allen St., Suite 205A, State College and open during the normal business day. The office will be closed on Independence Day, July 4.
For Festival fans who aren’t in the area, or prefer to tune in from the comfort of their home or office, we’ll still be live streaming the shows on Facebook Live and YouTube Live. And even if you’re going to our shows in person, you’ll still need to tune into the performance by The River Drivers at 9:00pm on Friday online. They’ll be performing from their home base near Philadelphia.
Alas, our famous Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, juried galley exhibition, Images, street painting exhibition, and so on are still taking place virtually. But if you want to make sure those events come back in the form that you know and love, support our artists by shopping online. There’s plenty of time between shows for you to fire up your phone, tablet, or computer, to do a little online shopping.
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