This is the final issue of Things to Do for the Spring 2024 semester. Publication will resume in the fall.
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
"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.
Bach's Lunch — 12:10-12:45 p.m., April 18, Eisenhower Chapel, University Park campus. "Bach's Lunch" is a weekly concert series during the school year. These popular concerts are brief in order to make it possible for the University community to attend during the lunch hour.
Ivyside Pride presents ‘Sunrise on Broadway’ — 7:30 p.m., April 18-19, 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.
"Sh'ma: A Story of Survival" — 1:30 p.m., April 18, Evelyn Graham Acedemic Building, Hazleton campus and via Zoom. Filmmaker and Texas Christian University Professor of Dance Suki John will present her film detailing the experiences of her family before, during and after the Holocaust.
"Falsettos" — April 18-21, Downtown Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage will produce “Falsettos,” book by William Finn and James Lapine, music and lyrics by William Finn, and directed by Zack Steele.
Other Arts Ensemble Concert — 7:30-9 p.m., April 19, Esber Rehearsal Hall, University Park camps. Penn State experimental music group Other Arts Ensemble presents original arrangements of two works by American composer Julius Eastman: BUDDHA and GAY GUERRILLA.
Glee Club — 7:30-9 p.m., April 20, Recital Hall, University Park campus. The Glee Club will perform a concert of varied music, from a hip-hop infused work by Dessa and Jocelyn Hagen, to stirring works by Andrea Ramsey and Jonathan Kolm, arrangements of African American spirituals and more.
Political Song-a-Palooza — 8 p.m., April 20, State Theatre, University Park campus. The second-annual Political Song-a-Palooza, sponsored by Penn State University Libraries, will feature new, old and original political or protest music. The musical event is free, with registration.
Oriana Singers: Portriats and Landscapes — 4-5:30 p.m., April 21, Recital Hall, University Park campus. Oriana Singers will perform music that explores the beauty and complexities of humankind and nature. This performance incorporates drawings, paintings, and digital artwork by students from Penn State’s School of Visual Arts.
Coreyah: Psychadelic Korean Folk — 8 p.m., April 24, Alumni Hall, University Park campus. Seoul-based Coreyah combines traditional Korean melodies and lyrics with a variety of global music elements—Anglo-American rock, funk, Balkan-Romani folk, and South American and African beats. The performance will be followed by a dance party at 9:45.
The Badass Bluettes: An East Coast – West Coast Poetry Reading — 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 24, via Zoom. Penn State Altoona Professor of English Erin Murphy is among a quartet of women poets who will present a virtual reading of works from their new poetry books, all of which feature "blue" in the titles. Registration for the event is available online. The event is free and open to the public.
Penn State Altoona University Jazz Band — 2:30 p.m., April 27, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Musical selections in a variety of contemporary big-band styles will be performed.
Luke Combs — 5:45 p.m., April 27, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. Two-time reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs will bring his “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour” to Penn State's Beaver Stadium.
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.
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.
Bird-Safe Glass Demonstration — 12:45-3 p.m., April 18, the Arboretum, University Park campus. Visitors to the Arboretum at Penn State can learn about simple ways to help prevent bird-window collisions at a demonstration on April 18. The demonstration will be held in the Childhood’s Gate Children’s Garden, with a rain date on April 25.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Big Apple Bites: "The Dinner of Possibilities" — April 18, 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.
Eco Action's Earth Day Celebration — 12-3 p.m., April 19, HUB lawn, University Park campus. Eco Action’s Earth Day Celebration will feature tables from student and Penn State organizations, interactive games, plants, and more.
Earth Day at Ross Student Farm — 1-3 p.m., April 20, Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm, University Park campus. Celebrate the excitement of Earth Week and the role agriculture plays in becoming better stewards of the Earth.
Earth Day at Penn State Berks — 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m., April 22, Perkins Student Center, Berks campus. The Penn State Berks Sustainability Council will host an Earth Day celebration, including community organizations, fun activities, educational presentations and stations, giveaways, prizes and light refreshments. This event is free and open to the community.
"Night at the Museums" — 4-8 p.m., April 25, Various locations, University Park campus. Hosted by the Penn State Museum Consortium, "Night at the Museums" is a chance for students, staff, faculty and the community to visit a variety of unique and interesting museums across campus. Free.
10th Annual Plant Sale — 11 a.m.-5 p.m., April 26, Tyson Greenhouses, University Park campus. Student Farm Club’s 10th annual plant sale will offer vegetables, succulents and native plants. All vegetables have been seeded and raised by Student Farm Club members.
Spring Commencement 2024 — May 3-5, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Commencement ceremonies for University Park and World Campus undergraduate students and graduate students in the Graduate School will be held in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Lectures
"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.
Cornel West — 5 p.m., April 23, Freeman Auditorium, University Park campus. Author, social justice advocate and presidential candidate Cornel West will deliver a public lecture co-sponsored by the College of Education’s Restorative Justice Institute, the Student's Restorative Justice Initiative, the Graduate School’s Office of Graduate Educational Equity Programs, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center and the University Park Allocation Committee.
"Black Beauty in the Artist's Book 11033" — 1-2 p.m., April 25, via Zoom. Book artist and educator IBe’ Crawley will deliver an account of the artist’s book as a tool for multi-disciplinary studies for the Penn State University Libraries’ 2024 Charles W. Mann Jr. Lecture in the Book Arts. The event is free and open to all. Registration is required.
Melissa Marshall — 6:30 p.m., April 25, 100 Thomas Building, University Park campus. Melissa Marshall, founder of the science communications consulting company Present Your Science, will give the 2024 A. Dixon and Betty F. Johnson Lectureship in Scientific Communication.
In-person exhibits
"Echoes and Edges" — Through April 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.
"For the Love of Birds" — Through April, Art Gallery, New Kensington campus. Stefani Allegretti, award-winning local artist, will feature her exhibition of photography, digital art and other mediums that captures the interactions, personalities, characteristics, and beauty of a variety of species of birds.
"Stuckeman Craft Biennale 001: Sitting Apparatus" — Through May 4, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. An interdisciplinary student-led exhibition showcases 17 pieces of furniture designed by students, faculty and alumni from the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School on the first floor of the Stuckeman Family Building.
"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.