The 42nd annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts kicks off today, with more than 300 artists scheduled for the five-day extravaganza.
Diane Bloom, director of development for Arts Fest, said the festival will be mostly unchanged despite the current economic situation.
She said organizers have received far more applications from sidewalk sale artists than they can accept because of space regulations, and there was no noticeable change in the volume of inquiries.
"It's pretty much as it has been," she said. "Thank goodness."
But patrons may notice some unfamiliar attendees this year: a trio of statues on loan for the event.
J. Seward Johnson contacted the coordinators of Arts Fest with the offer to loan three humanoid bronze statues to be placed at various locations of the festival. One is outside Schlow Centre Region Library, 100 E. Beaver Ave., and the other two are in a parking lot on Nittany Avenue. These statues are already available to be viewed, and attendees have taken notice.
Margaret Beckner of State College said she found the statue outside Schlow "uplifting." She has been coming to Arts Fest for most of her life and likes what the statues add to the atmosphere.
"I love the creative energy of it," she said.
Diane Bloom, director of development for Arts Fest, said she is also pleased with the addition of the sculptures. She said there will be a contest revolving around these statues and said she thinks the concept is "really cool" and is designed to help capture the essence of the festival.
Contest participants need to find a statue and take a picture with it demonstrating the spirit of Arts Fest. Photos should be taken with cell phones and sent to sculpture@arts-festival.com. The prize has yet to be announced.
With Arts Fest attendees taking notice of their bronze counterparts, some artists and vendors have taken notice of the hospitality of Bloom and the other event planners for Arts Fest.
Tina Koutoufaris, who is the co-owner of Simon's Food Concessions and has been setting up food for Arts Fest for the past 15 years, acknowledges the hard work of the coordinators.
"Everybody is so happy," Koutoufaris said. "They do such a nice job putting everything together and making us feel comfortable."
Arts Fest is expected to have 125,000 attendees, which is "right on target," Bloom said, adding that she doesn't expect the economy to affect the amount of people because it is a tradition and heavily promoted by the Penn State Alumni Association.
Abaigeal Rooney (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said this will be her first experience at Arts Fest and is anticipating the music, food and fun times it brings.
"I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of people," she said.
"A lot of people come up."
