As the 41st Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts came to a close, the hundreds of artists and thousands of visitors funneled out of Happy Valley.
But on the final day of the Arts Festival, there was no sign the artists' booths and musicians' stages littering downtown State College were ready to pack up.
The afternoon was alive with people holding lemonade cups and taking home their newly purchased displays of art to the sounds of upbeat musical performances.
"I've been to things like this before, but never anything as big as this," Genevieve Brandenberger (sophomore-art education) said.
This year marked Bradenberger's first time at the Arts Festival, an experience she said gave her ideas for projects she could do in her art classes.
With so many vendors and artists, every turn allowed for different choices of food and mediums of art.
Within the photography genre, visitors to the festival gathered around Matt Thomas' collection to learn of his travels and experiences photographing wildlife.
The southern Floridian and self-described nature lover has been working as a full-time photographer for 14 years.
Standing before his photographs of animals from all over the world, Thomas explained how he tries to get as close to his subjects as possible without disturbing them.
"Sometimes I think, 'wow, that was kind of crazy,' " Thomas said. He added he has never felt like his work has put him in danger.
Thomas travels frequently to capture photos of grizzly bears catching fish in Alaska or Emperor Penguins atop icebergs in Antarctica, along with many other subjects. Madagascar, however, with its unique animals and giant insects, intrigues him most, and he hopes to travel there some day.
Another booth that garnered a great deal of attention, including from the judges, was Chris Lawson's mixed media 2D booth. This year was Lawson's first time to the Arts Festival. He won an excellence award and said the reception from the people and judges was gratifying.
It was Halloween 1984 when Lawson first began creating his work. He said he felt inspired to make art, so he went the drugstore to purchase markers and drawing paper. The next day he picked up acrylics and watercolors. Soon after he began, he had his first studio, and it wasn't much longer before he began studying at Parsons Design School in New York City.
His work comprises different items he has gathered from all of his travels. Different pictures, restaurant bills, pages from books and a variety of other items are used to create his captivating art.
He sees things and then is able to "see a piece bloom right then," he said.
