The Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts recently ranked first on the list of 100 Best Fine Art and Design Shows in America published by Sunshine Artist magazine. The 21st annual poll, published in the September issue of Sunshine Artist, is based on sales totals reported by exhibitors at the 2012 festival.
This is the first time the Sidewalk Sale has reached the list’s top spot, though it hasn’t been ranked lower than fifth since 2009. The Sidewalk Sale held second place in 2012.
“We’re thrilled learn that we ranked atop a list of some of the best festivals in the country, particularly when our exhibiting artists have nominated us. We appreciate this recognition and thank our hardworking volunteers and staff who make the festival the premier event it is,” said Katherine Allen, the board president of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, which is held annually in downtown State College and on Penn State’s University Park campus. “We especially need to thank our loyal audience that makes this ranking possible.”
Festival Director Rick Bryant added, “We’re a great weekend destination for both browsers and collectors. Visitors have learned what locals have known for years: that the festival is a great place to shop, to hear wonderful music and see friends, and to have an all-around great time.”
Even though the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is produced by an independent organization, the festival is known to artists around the country as “the Penn State show.”
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts was founded in 1967 by the State College Chamber of Commerce and Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture. The festival has grown to encompass Children and Youth Day, a juried gallery exhibition, a banner competition, the Downtown State College Improvement District Italian Street Painting Festival, and a wide variety of performances on outdoor and indoor stages. Approximately 100,000 people visit the festival each year. The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts also produces First Night State College.
The 2014 Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will be held from July 9-13. Children and Youth Day will be July 9, and the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition will be held from July 10 through July 13.
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Additional funding is provided through a grant made by possible by the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, and the Centre County Commissioners.