Early on the organizers set up Wednesday, the "first" day for a Children's Sidewalk Sale. From their website
"The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale is a fun way for boys and girls to express themselves visually. CPFA encourages young people to develop their artistic potential through personal expression in individually crafted, original objects. Artists ages 8 through 18, who live in or have relatives in Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin or Union Counties, are encouraged to participate. All work must be designed and produced by the entrant; work made from kits is not permitted."
Casey, with a little help, made tie dye things. Sarah was too young to officially participate, but Casey shared her booth.
In spite of a rainy day, the crowd was big and sales went well.
The next few days were fun too. A "Dumping Buckets" stage was a favorite.
One of the "crafts" people was Tim Bradford, a blacksmith from Pleasant Gap, PA.
He was using a portable forge - almost exactly like the one my Grandfather used around the turn of the century.
Tim was very friendly and took a few minutes to show my grandkids how everything worked. I told them, "Your Great-Great-Grandfather worked with a forge just like this one. And I have his back in VA. So when your Daddy comes home one day with what looks like a rusted out iron birdbath with a blower on it, you'll know what it is."
It caught in my throat a little to say, "Your Great-Great-Grandfather." I KNEW this guy for crying out loud. My, how time - and generations - fly by.
Tim is a Harley owner and said, "Call me next week and we'll go riding." I did and we did. A great Sunday afternoon through Amish country. I remembered from 40 years ago that driving quickly required extra vigilance when there are lots of horse and buggies on the road. But since all my prior experience was in a car, I didn't fully appreciate the obstacles they leave in the middle of the road. Didn't matter too much in the car, but it's a different story on the bike. That stuff is really slippery when it's fresh. But what beautiful country.
And lots of other fun things for the kids.
The Festival includes live performances at several stages around downtown and campus. This one, "Rustical Quality String Band"
was a "can't miss" for me because several of the members are people with whom I've jammed during my stays in State College. ALSO, a second washboard player joined them for a few songs. Here's a close up. 
For those few of you who might not recognize him, on the left is Penn State President Graham Spanier. HAH - and YOU thought Joe Paterno was the only cool guy at Penn State!
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