Just a State of Mind?
Let’s get one thing straight. State College is the name of the 4.5-square-mile town in Centre County, Pennsylvania. University Park is the main campus of Pennsylvania State University located in State College — and beyond. State College (remember, that’s the town) has a population of 42,000-plus. Penn State’s University Park enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students is about 46,000. Without the addition of Penn State students, the town’s population density is more than 9,000 people per square mile. With, … well, you can do the math. It is one crowded place, especially when out-of-towners visit during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, held for the past 54 years during four days in July.
The Duchess and squalling baby rendered in a sand sculpture.
My husband David and I were two of those visitors on July 12. The day was sunny and warm, perfect for a stroll around the circuit of streets, including the mall in front of Old Main. Jewelers, textile weavers, wood turners, photographers, painters, ceramicists, sculptors, glass workers, metal workers, leather workers — all displaying their wares in booth after booth. It boggled the mind! These artisans were cream of the crop, top of the line. Frankly, it was overwhelming. But, wait, there’s more. We did not indulge in the myriad of musical performances — from pop-up to formal stage; from jazz to folk and Texas swing to big band. Sensory overload, indeed. There was only one sand sculpture, however. An ingenious rendering from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland of the Duchess holding a baby that later turns into a pig.
A marker in Bellefonte commemorates pioneering architect Anna Keichline.
The next day we decided on a quieter experience. Driving about 11 miles northeast, we entered the town of Bellefonte. It is the county seat of Centre County and, not surprisingly, known for its prodigious spring that produces more than 11 million gallons of water a day. From the spring, a lovely, little, clear-running river, complete with ducks, flows through Talleyrand Park. Why Talleyrand? Apparently, sometime during the French diplomat’s exile in the United States between 1794 and 1796, Talleyrand visited the area, saw the spring, and exclaimed, “La belle fonte.” After a relaxing stroll through the park, we walked around the charming town — slowly, as the streets are quite hilly. The architecture is mainly Victorian; the courthouse with its pillars looks just as a courthouse should. Both the Centre County and the Bellefonte Historical Associations are located in the town. Five governors of Pennsylvania called Bellefonte “home.” The former Pennsylvania Match Factory houses the American Philatelic Society. On High Street, a most intriguing historical marker caught our eye. A true pioneer in her field, Anna Wagner Keichline designed the Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall, Pa., the Country Clubhouse in Mount Union, Pa., and the Plaza Theater in Bellefonte. She also held seven architectural patents. Quite a lot to see and learn in a town of merely 1.85 square miles. And, yes, Virginia, there is an arts fair in Bellefonte, held this year on August 2 and 3. Take that, State College!
