The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale is one of the signature events of the Arts Festival. Festival directors have come from across the country to State College just to check it out.
In this junior version of the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, young artists sell a wide variety of art and crafts, ranging from friendship bracelets to greeting cards to jewelry to wooden cutting boards. The range of creative products the kids sell is quite remarkable, and their budding entrepreneurship is just as noteworthy.
For me, Children and Youth Day can open with last minute problems that range from parking to toilet paper, both of which sound pretty trivial until you need one of those things and it’s nowhere to be found.
After that morning’s fires have been put out, I take time to walk through the Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale. Even on a rainy day, the event never fails to bring a smile to my face. These young people are not just there to show off their creativity, they’re there to sell work. They’re all about displaying, packaging, pricing, and packaging the work. They’ve all learned how to close a sale and make change.
Do you know a young artist-entrepreneur who might enjoy the Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale? Applications for the event are now available. You can review the guidelines and download an application here.
Children from ages 8 to 18 who live in, or who have relatives in Centre, Blair, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin or Union counties are eligible to participate in the Children’s Sidewalk Sale. The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale is subject to very simple rules. For example, each artist must make his or her own work and must attend the event. Items made from kits are not permitted, nor is the sale of food. A full list of rules can be found in the application.
There is a $20.00 entry fee. The application postmark deadline is June 22, 2018. Applications postmarked after that date will not be considered. Applications may be delivered to the Festival offices at 403 South Allen Street, Suite 205A, State College until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 22, 2018. As Gertrude Stein might have said, the deadline is the deadline is the deadline.
The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale will be held, rain or shine, on South Allen Street, on Children and Youth Day, Wednesday, July 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The event is a great warm-up act for our 2018 Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition which opens the following day, July 12, and continues through July 15 on the streets of State College and on the adjacent campus of Penn State.
I hope to see you—and the young artists in your family—there!