Children and Youth Day

Children and Youth Day at the Arts Festival is Wednesday, July 9, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. We are pleased to have AAUW State College as the 2025 Presenting Sponsor of Children & Youth Day!  

Each year, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts opens on Wednesday with Children & Youth Day, called “Kids Day” by many. The day is devoted to young artists, young performers, young guests, and the young at heart. On Children and Youth Day, the day before the “grown up” regular Sidewalk Sale & Exhibition opens, young artists sell their wares at the Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale, open to those ages 8 to 18.  

Young visitors can explore their own artistic talents through free creative activities in Sidney Friedman Park and on the Old Main lawn starting at 10:00 a.m.

Everyone in the family can choose their favorite giant puppet and march in the Children & Youth Day Grand Procession of giant (and not so giant) papier-mache puppets from Old Main Lawn to Sidney Friedman Park, accompanied by drummers and a pep band from State College Area High School. The procession steps off at 3:00 p.m.

The day is a great way to see how talented and creative young people can be.  Of course, it’s also a great day to bring your little ones to the Festival to let them blow off some steam in the dumping buckets water sculpture too! 

Kids Day Passport

Take a trip on Children & Youth Day with our activity passport… and maybe win a Delgrosso’s Amusement Park prize pack!

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9, take the Town & Gown program with you as you enjoy Children & Youth Day activities at each “destination.”

Sidney Friedman Park will play host to six destinations.  At each destination, you can learn about a different culture and complete a complementary activity:

State College, PA — West Tent

Africa — West Tent 

Europe — West Tent

Asia — East Tent

Middle East — East Tent

Latin America/South America — East Tent 

After completing each activity, you’ll receive a themed sticker to put on the passport. Drop your completed passport in the designated box at the Festival Shell on Old Main Lawn, and you will be entered in the drawing to win a DelGrosso’s Amusement Park prize pack! The drawing will take place on Facebook Live at 2:55 p.m., just before the procession steps off from Old Main Lawn!

South Allen Street

At the Allen Street Stage:

11:30 a.m. Adam Swartz Puppets

            1:00 p.m. Suzuki Strings at Arts Fest

The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale takes place on South Allen Street from Highland Alley to Fairmount Avenue.

The Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority along with Jabebo Studio will be near Schlow Centre Region Library to share information on the importance of recycling to our environment.

Visit Heartfelt Music & Mantra Experience on the Mayor Welch Plaza in front of the State College Borough building for some fun, hands-on musical experience for all ages.   Presented by the Bhakti Yoga Center of State College & Gita Nagari Eco Farm.

Public safety personnel will be on hand from the Alpha Fire Company and the State College Area Police Department. Have you ever wanted a closer look at a fire truck or a police car? Now’s your chance. Children and Youth Day is a great time to take photo with a firefighter or police officer.

Old Main Lawn

Yoga Lab
10 a.m.

Come experience our kid-friendly yoga and meditation, with an emphasis on mindfulness and functional movement to promote physical and mental well-being.

Erin Jeannier – The Queen of Hoops
Noon to 2 p.m.

Learn to hula hoop with the Queen of Hoops.  Erin will be on hand throughout the day to share her talents and teach you too.

The Art of Science on Old Main Lawn is a tradition that you won’t want to miss!  Each booth features a hands-on activity that relates the beauty of science and engineering to our everyday world through the lens of artistic expression, light, color, and more.  All ages are invited to bring their curiosity and explore with Penn State students and faculty researchers who are excited to share their enthusiasm and encourage your own creative thinking and engagement.  Sponsored by the Center for Nanoscale Science – a Materials Research Science & Engineering Center program funded by the National Science Foundation.  

Kids of all ages are invited to bring their curiosity and enthusiasm and join Penn State scientists and engineers who are excited to provide hands-on activities that relate to our everyday world, such as unexpected colorful butterflies, mysterious phase-changing goop, groovy reflective bookmarks, pencil stencil circuits, and more. Did you ever wonder what else liquid nitrogen is used for besides making ice cream? Student and faculty researchers who study physics, interdisciplinary materials, chemistry, and electrical and chemical engineering, as well as high school students from the Upward Bound Program, are excited to share their creativity and passion for science with you!

Unleash your creativity with the staff from the Center for Arts and Crafts at Penn State!

Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center teaches about our local wild fauna.

The Penn State All Sports Museum showcases the rich history of sports at Penn State.

Penn State’s Center for Language Science, Penn State Psychology (Hungry Brain Study), Penn State Kinesiology, and WPSU-TV all bring fun creative activities for all ages.

Penn State Health is proud to return for our fourth year sponsoring the Children and Youth Day at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts — and this year, we’re thrilled to expand our presence as first-time sponsors of the Kids Zone at MLK Plaza! We invite all kids and families to join us for a fun, interactive experience: “From Our Kids to Your Kids,” where we’ll be painting a mural for the pediatric patients at the Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. You can find us at Old Main Lawn on Wednesday, July 9, or at the MLK Plaza Kids Zone July 10–12. To learn more about our project, please visit pshcc.org/artofcare. We hope to see you there!

PA Distance Learning Charter School, Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State Center for the Performing Arts, Penn State Healthy Brains research study, and more all bring fun creative activities for all ages.

Old Main Lawn Stage

CC4H Robotics
11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Experience the excitement of Centre County 4-H Robotics as members demonstrate the robots built by the students.

 

Sidney Friedman Park

Let your creativity flow with the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania! Design and decorate your own card with watercolors and colored pencils. 

You’ll be more than just a pretty face when you have your face painted at Children & Youth Day by members of the State College Area Education Association.

Visit Penn Highlands Healthcare for a Lego-themed activity.

Enjoy free kids’ crafts with Jana Marie Foundation. 

Sidney Friedman Park Stage