The Penn State barbershop boycott, organized by the NAACP, was a campaign of nonviolent action against the discriminatory practices of six barbershops in downtown State College. With the support of hundreds of Black and White students, the event was the first major civil rights protest at Penn State.
The American Association of University Women Used Book Sale is a popular community event that raises more than $100,000 annually for scholarships and other causes. The State College branch of the AAUW started the sale in 1962.
Penn State’s THON is a 46-hour dance marathon at Penn State that has become the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Since its founding in 1973, the event has raised more than $190 million. The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children’s Hospital is the event’s sole beneficiary.
The Morrill Land-Grant College Act created a new class of colleges centered on scientific, technical, and applied subjects, especially agriculture and engineering. The Pennsylvania Legislature designated the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, today’s Penn State, as the recipient of the act’s endowment income.
The Bellefonte Victorian Christmas is a two-day holiday event that looks back at the borough’s history. The event was founded in 1981 to remember how the holiday season was celebrated during the heyday of Bellefonte during the 1800s and has grown over the years to become a popular family tradition.
First Night State College is a family-oriented community event that celebrates the beginning of a new year. The event was founded in 1994 and patterned after First Night festivals across the United States that are intended to promote the performing and visual arts as a means to unify citizens on New Year’s Eve.
Jerry Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually assaulting multiple boys both during and after his career as an assistant coach for Penn State’s football team. The scandal led to the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno and the criminal convictions of three top university officials, including President Graham Spanier. Penn State paid more […]
The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, popularly known as “Arts Fest,” is a five-day event that draws more than 125,000 visitors to Centre County every summer. Since its founding in 1967, the festival has become one of the top arts festivals in the United States. The festival resumes in 2022 after not being held the past two years.
Aaronsburg Story was pageant and panel in aftermath of World War II that garnered worldwide attention with message that people of all backgrounds should accept one another despite their differences.
“Such times and scenes were witnessed in this beautiful valley during these last two weeks were never before dreamt of much less imagined,” Samuel Gramly of Rebersburg wrote in a journal on August 31, 1862. A school teacher in Brush Valley, Gramly had marveled at the recruitment and enlistment of dozens of local men into […]