What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University:
Performances
Ivyside Dance Ensemble presents “Skyline” — 7:30 p.m., April 11 and 12, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Pieces by dance faculty KT Huckabee and Jessica Jaye Mackinson will be performed, including “Skyline,” a collaboration between Huckabee and musician and composer Rick Wertz exploring the emotional spectrum of those experiencing immigration — forced or chosen.
"Bernarda Alba" — Multiple performances, April 11-14, Penn State Downtown Theatre, State College. Penn State Centre Stage will produce “Bernarda Alba,” with words and music by Michael John LaChiusa, and directed and choreographed by Christopher Campbell.
"All in the Timing" and "Love Kills" — Multiple performances through April 13, Perkins Student Center Auditorium, Berks campus. Penn State Berks will present its spring mainstage theatre production of select one-act plays.
"1964: The Tribute" — 7:30 p.m., April 18, The Pullo Center, York campus. Hailed by Rolling Stone Magazine as "The Best Beatles Tribute on Earth," 1964 focuses on the quintessential moment in history when The Beatles played before a live audience.
Ivyside Pride presents ‘Sunrise on Broadway’ — 7:30 p.m., April 18 and 19, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. The concert features selections from Ola Gjeilo’s “Sunrise Mass,” which the choir performed with the Masterworks Festival Chorus and New York City Chamber Orchestra in New York’s iconic Carnegie Hall in March 2024. Musical theatre selections inspired by the sentiments of the “Sunrise Mass” will also be featured.
Events
Campus Pride Month — Multiple events in April, Multiple campuses. Events continue to be offered to celebrate Campus Pride Month on Penn State's campuses, offered by the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, a unit of Penn State Student Affairs, and other units across the University.
Mary E. Rolling Reading Series: Christine Hume — 6 p.m., April 11, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Essayist, poet and Penn State alumna Christine Hume will offer a reading. Hume's most recent essay collection, "Everything I Never Wanted to Know," confronts the stigma and vulnerability of women's bodies in the United States. Free.
Blue-White Weekend — Multiple events, April 12-14, University Park campus. Fans who attend the 2024 Blue-White Game will have a variety of activities to participate in throughout the weekend, including a Beaver Stadium Block Party, an apparel and equipment sale, multiple athletics events, and Penn State football's annual intra-squad spring scrimmage at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 13, in Beaver Stadium.
The Price is Right Live — 7 p.m., April 14, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. The BJC will play host to The Price is Right Live stage show.
"The Biggest Little Farm" screening — 7 p.m., April 15, 127 Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, University Park campus. The Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm will host a screening of the film by John Chester, which offers a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet in preparation for Earth Day.
Autism Awareness Panel Discussion — Noon to 1:15 p.m., April 16, Titelman Study, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. The panel will consist of Penn State Altoona students sharing their lived experiences with autism to raise awareness and to dispel the misconceptions of the disorder.
Ending Fast Fashion Events with Miss Pennsylvania — Multiple events, April 17, University Park campus and downtown State College. Penn State Sustainability and the Penn State Fashion Club welcome Miss Pennsylvania Miranda Moore to discuss the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion and ways we can combat this global problem. Her visit will include a conversation about fast fashion, a student clothing swap, and a sustainable fashion show.
Ag Awareness Day — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 18, outside the Slep Student Center, Altoona campus. The event will include 30 vendors, a petting zoo, a calf-feeding exhibit, lawn games, a mechanical bull, Penn State Berkey Creamery ice cream, and hands-on activities coordinated by Penn State Altoona Ag students.
Café Laura Theme Dinners — Multiple dates and themes, Café Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required. (Read more about Café Laura in this "Hidden Gems" article on Penn State News).
Lectures
"How MatSE prepared me for a career that I love (outside of MatSE)" — 3:05 p.m., April 11, 111 Wartik Laboratory, University Park campus. Melissa Marshall, vice president of global audit, risk and controls at Westinghouse Electric Co., will deliver the 2024 David Ford McFarland Award Lecture for Achievement in Metallurgy.
EarthTalks: "Exposure to Indoor PM2.5 and Impact of Outdoor-to-Indoor Temperature and Humidity Gradients — 4 p.m., April 15, 112 Walker Building, University Park campus and via Zoom. Michael Waring, professor and department head of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at Drexel University, will present as part of the EarthTalks spring 2024 series. Free.
'Unearthing the Field of Paleobotany: A Fossil Wood Case Study from the Cretaceous of Colorado' — 12:05 p.m., Tuesday, April 16, Fireside Lounge, Slep Student Center, Altoona campus. Penn State Altoona’s Spotlight on Teaching and Research lecture series continues with a presentation by Assistant Professor of Biology Sarah Allen and biology student Haley Hatch.
"Stonewall: The Riot That Built a Community" — 7 p.m., April 18, School of Graduate Professional Studies, Great Valley campus. Mark Segal — who organized of some of the earliest American LGBTQ+ organizations, helped plan the first pride march in 1970, founded the longest-running LGBTQ+ weekly newspaper, and became one of the most important figures in the alternative gay press, will talk about his participant in the Stonewall riots in 1969. Free. Registration required.
In-person exhibits
2024 Bertha Lear Annual Student Art Exhibition — Through April 17, Art Gallery and Woodland Lobby, Abington campus. The exhibit features sculpture, painting, drawing, ceramics, photography, printmaking and new media work completed in the 2023-24 academic year by students enrolled in studio art courses at the campus.
"Echoes and Edges" — April 15-19, Borland Project Space, 125 Borland Building, University Park campus. Penn State College of Arts and Architecture students who are wrapping up their master of fine arts degrees with a concentration in graphic design this spring are hosting a thesis exhibition of projects dedicated to enhancing lives through human-centered design.
"The Other California: land, loss, labor, liberated futures along phantom shores" — Through April 25, Rouse Gallery, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. Alison Hirsch, associate professor at the University of Southern California and landscape theorist, historian and designer, opens the exhibit as part of the Stuckeman School's spring Lecture and Exhibit Series.
"Something About the Sky" — Through April 27, Ronald K. DeLong gallery, Lehigh Valley campus. The exhibit features a new series of cloud drawings and skyscape light paintings featuring movement created through Penn State Laureate Lori Hepner’s performances in the studio using wearable LEDs.
"Growth Patterns" — Through May 24, HUB-Robeson Art Alley, University Park campus. The HUB-Robeson Galleries presents the exhibition of drawings and sculptural installation by Alyssa Dennis.
"Under Pressure" — Through August, Woskob Family Gallery, Downtown State College. A participatory experimental art installation featuring the work of Ryan Kough, a neurodivergent artist, experimental letterpress printmaker and design educator who focuses on participatory community-driven social design initiatives.
"'Where Beauty’s At': Expressions of Black Visual Culture" — Through Sept. 9, Special Collections exhibit space, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. Brittany Frederick, a postdoctoral scholar with the Africana Research Center, and Adisa Vera Beatty, a Just Transformations Postdoctoral Fellow with the Center for Black Digital Research, have curated an exhibit highlighting the diversity of Black artistic and literary expression in partnership with Penn State University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library.
"I Am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II" — Through June 2025, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. Timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the conflict, "I Am a Penn Stater" chronicles the contributions of Nittany Lion varsity lettermen and Women’s Recreation Association athletes during the conflict and follows their service from training in the United States, to fighting on battlefields around the globe, to their postwar occupations. Free.
Virtual exhibits
In addition to in-person events, a number of virtual exhibits are available through University departments. The Palmer Museum of Art and University Libraries offer a rotating selection of historical and artistic collections to view online.
Current virtual exhibitions include an exploration of the first 100 years of national disability rights legislation and the movement's impact on the Penn State community; a virtual exhibition of design, craft and makery; and a variety of abstract images that push the boundaries of photography as a medium.