How far can $50 get you at Arts Fest or People’s Choice? We tested your festival budget

Centre County’s schedule of summer festivals is heating up this week as 2024’s Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania get underway.

Whether you’re searching for locally produced art, live music, unique food or family fun, these festivals have plenty to offer. However, even a quick trip can put a strain on your wallet—especially if you’re visiting with the whole family.

So, what can $50 get you at both of these beloved summer festivals? To help put the average consumer’s costs into perspective, we’ve outlined a brief budget for Arts Fest and People’s Choice.

Setting a budget for Arts Fest

Unless you live in downtown State College, you’ll likely wind up parking somewhere near the festival route before you visit Arts Fest this week.

You can score a pretty good deal by parking on Penn State’s campus, where drivers pay a flat $10 fee for parking anywhere between two and 10 hours. You’ll wind up saving more in the long run if you’re attending Arts Fest for a full day, as the Beaver Avenue, Fraser Street and Pugh Street garages downtown charge $2.25 per hour (up to a maximum of $32 per day).

Penn State’s West Deck along White Course Drive, the largest garage in the area, offers a free shuttle service that will bring guests to College Avenue or the new Palmer Museum of Art near the Arboretum. The shuttle runs from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

If you’ve taken our advice and parked at the West Deck for up to 10 hours, you’ve got $40 left in your budget. Thankfully, you likely won’t need to spend a dime of that budget on a festival wristband or button this year, as nearly all of Arts Fest’s live entertainment is free for all guests (as opposed to $15 in 2023). Some entertainment options, including shows at the State Theatre and Blue Brick Theatre, still require paid admission.

Even if Arts Fest’s craft beverage expo is out of your budget, you’ll want to eat or drink something. Luckily, the festival offers plenty of options.

Think about stopping by Belly Busters food truck out of Williamsburg, Pa ., which joined Arts Fest’s lineup this year at the intersection of South Allen Street and Nittany Avenue. This truck specializes in half-pound, hand-formed burgers, plus wings and fresh-cut French fries. You can get five different burgers for $8.50 each, including the “Spicy Bacon Buster” burger that features jalapeños, bacon and nacho cheese, and, for $7.50 more, add an order of fries and a drink. That $16 total is a bit hefty, but the combo is likely a better value than others found at some trucks and stands, including one selling chicken tenders and fries alone for $17.

Now with your thirst quenched, your belly full and your budget sitting at $24, it’s time to scour for some art. More than 300 artists and vendors are selling their work at this year’s Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition throughout downtown State College and parts of Penn State’s campus.

Though some vendors feature more expensive, upscale items, many options are available for budget-conscious connoisseurs. One that caught our eye was an assortment of handcrafted wooden coasters sold by Morton Woodworking out of Erie. Plain coasters sell for $5 apiece (or four for $15), while painted coasters sell for a bit more. Let’s say you buy a set of four for the whole family for $15, leaving $9 in your budget and giving you some souvenirs that won’t be too hard to tote around.

No treat screams “summer festival” quite like kettle corn, and you can get a medium-sized bag at Hanson’s Original Kettle Korn in Sidney Friedman Park for $7. Consider pairing it with a bottle of spring water from any Arts Fest information booth for $2 to quench your thirst and neatly use the remainder of your $50 budget.

Here’s a final look at the $50 budget for our hypothetical trip to Arts Fest (before adding any applicable taxes):

• Parking at Penn State’s West Deck (up to 10 hours): $10
• Burger combo at Belly Busters food truck: $16
• Set of four coasters from Morton Woodworking (booth R-47 on Fraser Street): $15
• Medium-sized kettle corn from Hanson’s Original Kettle Korn: $7
• Bottle of water: $2

Building a budget for People’s Choice

Over in Centre Hall, you should have more room in your People’s Choice budget thanks to a special promotion this summer. The festival is offering free parking for guests to celebrate its 30th anniversary. In lieu of a parking fee, attendees are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to donate to local food banks.

People’s Choice does not charge for admission or live entertainment and music. Just about the only things that will cost money at this festival are food, vendor goods and some select activities, such as face painting or admission to a play area full of inflatables and bounce houses.

If you head to People’s Choice with a $50 budget and get there bright and early as the festival opens at 10 a.m., you might need a hot cup of coffee and a hearty breakfast. Consider heading to Idou Coffee Co. in the festival’s eastern food court, where you can pick up a cup of freshly brewed coffee for $2.50. Pair your drink with a $4 egg and cheese sandwich from a concessions stand in the western food court to round out your breakfast. Consider the trek across the fairgrounds as part of your morning walk.

Now with $43.50 left in your budget, it’s time to browse the offerings presented by People’s Choice’s nearly 200 Pennsylvania-based vendors and artists . Participants offer goods across many mediums and products, including wood, glass, jewelry, photography, painting and more.

We were particularly drawn to offerings from Pottery by Bachert , located at booth No. 49 and hailing from Zionsville. One of our favorite products was described as a “What Is It?” plate, said to be designed as a spoon rest but also useful as a cheese tray, candle dish, jewelry tray or “anything you want.” One of these plates will run you $15, leaving $28.50 in your budget.

Few lunch options are more enticing than the aptly named Chicken on a Stick, sold by Snyder’s Concessions. The eponymous entree is an enormous, skewered fried chicken breast rubbed with Cajun-style seasoning and topped with a Hawaiian-style sweet roll. This $12 option is intimidating, but how often can you say you ate chicken on a stick? You can spice things up with a free condiments table located next to the kiosk and wash it down with a $2 bottle of water.

Now, you’ve got about $14.50 left in your budget before heading home in the evening. High temperatures in Centre Hall this weekend are expected to top out near 90 degrees Fahrenheit , according to AccuWeather, which may make ice cream seem enticing. You can grab a soft-serve cone or a root beer float for $3 at Carper’s Cones in the western food court.

Once dinnertime rolls around following an afternoon of live entertainment, head to People’s Choice’s eastern food court and visit the Farmstead Fusion food truck. This women-owned truck is a longtime favorite from the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair , offering burgers, beef sliders and wraps. Consider picking up the $10 Jammin’ Bacon Burger, described as a quarter-pound Twin B Farms burger topped with cheddar cheese, homemade bacon jam and barbecue sauce on a potato roll. Round out your meal with a $1 soda and call it a day with two quarters left in your pocket.

Here’s a final look at the $50 budget for our hypothetical trip to People’s Choice (before adding any applicable taxes and fees):

• Idou Coffee Co. coffee: $2.50
• Concessions stand breakfast sandwich: $4
• Pottery by Bachert plate: $15
• Chicken on a Stick: $12
• Bottle of water: $2
• Carper’s Cones soft-serve cone or root beer float: $3
• Farmstead Fusion burger and soda: $11

People’s Choice guests should note many stands and food trucks charge convenience fees for purchases by credit card. Several ATMs are available throughout the fairgrounds for those who want to use cash but need more.

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