Next to Homecoming, the week of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts at Penn State might be the largest alumni and student event of the entire year.

How can this be?

Arts Fest takes place in the summer, when the student body is mostly gone, and the alumni are all away as well. No one wants to come all the way back to State College for just an area fair, something thousands of towns across the country host each year, right?

Well, that's far from the truth.

Arts Fest has transformed in many ways over the years. It went from an ordinary street fair held by Penn State's arts and architecture department and downtown State College, to an annual event that rivals only the weekends of football games for the number of returning Penn Staters.

However, I do have a gripe.

Professors teaching summer classes don't let up on the workload that they assign during the week of the festival.

For the tens of thousands of Penn State students on summer vacation, Arts Fest can be a nice break from the daily grind of working summer jobs or internships. However, it would be a much better break if the university were to recognize that students want to attend Arts Fest, and make a decision like canceling classes for a day or two during the week.

Can someone explain to me how the professors of summer classes expect students to concentrate on our classes and act as if there wasn't the equivalent of a town tailgate going on 100 yards away from our classrooms? It seems a bit ridiculous that the university, which plays a crucial role in the organization of Arts Fest, continues scheduling important tests, papers and assignments during the latter part of the Arts Fest week.

The university knows when Arts Fest is, so why not adjust the class work schedules accordingly?

Of course, Arts Fest is not exclusively a time for the current students at Penn State to reunite with friends and enjoy a mid-summer blast, but Arts Fest is just as much fun for the thousands of alumni who flock to central Pennsylvania each summer.

As students find themselves walking down Calder Way or Allen Street, it's not unusual to see hundreds of alumni reliving their own days as undergraduates.

It's commonplace to overhear Penn State alumni talking with friends, or even some of the student body, trading stories of when they were living the college life.

So many of these friendly conversations turn into an unspoken rivalry between what was and what is at Penn State - a rivalry that is renewed every year at Arts Fest.

I see Arts Fest as an opportunity to enjoy the summer atmosphere in Happy Valley. There are countless vendors and merchants selling thousands of items from clothing to antiques, to artwork and furniture, and of course, food.

How many times during the year can Penn State students get fair-grounds-style food on campus or in downtown State College?

Needless to say, it's a nice change of pace from stressful classes and jobs.

Arts Fest will always be a cherished tradition for Penn Staters young and old for years to come, and if the university were to give students some time off from classes to actually enjoy the weeks of Arts Fest, it could be even better.