Catherine Dupuis wants people to know downtown State College isn't the area's only source for culture and entertainment.

The JazzPA Colombia Gas 2008 Summer Jazz Celebration is this weekend, and it's being held in Bellefonte for the first time.

"There's more to Centre County than State College," organizer Dupuis said.

Jazz performers will entertain Friday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and all day Saturday starting at 11 a.m. in outdoor venues including a gazebo in Tallyrand Park, the Diamond stage at the County Courthouse and the Garman Opera House Theatre.

All sets are free, except for the evening show, Dupuis said.

Evening show headliners -- the Russ Kassoff Trio, Byron Stripling and Tom Malone -- will play at 7:30 p.m. at the Garman Opera House Theatre. Malone plays the trombone and was a member of the original Saturday Night Live band. He is a member of David Letterman's CBS Orchestra, according to a JazzPA press release.

Stripling plays trumpet and flugelhorn. He has been a member of the New York and Boston Pops Orchestras and is the artistic director for the Columbus Ohio Jazz Orchestra.

Stripling and Malone will offer a free jazz class from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Garman Opera House Theatre.

Local musician Greg Johnson will perform Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Tallyrand gazebo. He has performed at the event before and thinks it's an excellent opportunity for people to be exposed to jazz music.

"Jazz and Pennsylvania don't always go together," he said.

He added listening to jazz increases the chance people will begin to enjoy it.

"I think it's about exposure," he said. "The more you hear it the more you like it."

Dupuis, who has been playing jazz music for more than 30 years, will perform with the Friends Big Band at 1:30 p.m. on the Diamond stage.

Students should not be deterred by the festival's location because they can take Centre Area Transportation Authority buses to get there, Dupuis said.

All kinds of people will enjoy the weekend's festivities -- not just jazz lovers, Dupuis said. Samba and blues will also be featured, and fans of big band music should come for swing dancing.

Dupuis acknowledged jazz is not thought of as a youth-oriented style of music.

"Jazz sounds foreign to teenagers, but they'll find jazz has been sampled for music they listen to," she said. "Anyone who likes rock 'n' roll will love the blues."