Many travel to State College PA every year for a multitude of reasons. I realize that there are big, little college towns all over the United States and I am not saying that this small town is any better than many of the others but I will say that it is something very special. You cannot begin to talk about the tourist and travel industry in State College without starting with the football program at Penn State. It is by far the biggest draw in central Pennsylvania and it show no signs of decreasing. The Nittany Lions have won 22 games in the last two seasons, which is quit impressive considering that there are many other division 1A programs that cannot say such a thing. Beaver stadium, the home of the Lions seats over 100 thousand fans. PSU is also one of the kings of Tailgating. Very few schools can keep pace with the game day party scene that happens around Beaver stadium every home Saturday. Now with the Nebraska Corn Huskers joining the Big 10, there just one more reason for game day hysteria in Happy Valley.
There are many other draws for State College Travel, way too many to mention at this time. However I would like to touch on a few of them. The Bryce Jordon Center is the state of the art arena in this area. The Jordon Center seats around 16,000 people depending on the venue and is located in the same proximity as the football stadium. It host many different events each year from concerts to pro wrestling, motocross, monster truck and various trade shows and is the home of the PSU men’s and ladies basketball teams.
Another of the bigger events that brings people in form all over for State College Travelis the PA Festival of the Arts or Arts Fest. This festival started out as a small event in the 70’s for artist to display and sell their works in an outdoor venue. It has since grown into a huge event that spans several days and includes all kinds activities for everyone to enjoy. Just a few miles down the road, Boalsburg also has it own festival, The People’s Choice Festival, which more exclusive to Pennsylvania craft people. Boalsburg also boast the PA Military Museum which has many veterans holiday activities and claims to have invented Memorial Day.
I have just touched on a few things that State College Travel is connected with. I haven’t even talked about the Dance Marathon for the Four Diamonds Fund also known as “Thon” which is abig event that the students put on for charity each year. To me, there is one intangible aspect of Penn State and the local area that I cannot explain all that well. For some reason, well actually for several reasons, people that come to this area are usual drawn back to it. Whether being a student, professor, other professional or maybe just a fan, people come back to State College over and over again. There is some type mystic loyalty that people have towards this area that makes State College Travel something that will go on forever.
