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
“John Proctor is the Villan” – Multiple performances through Oct. 19, Pavilion Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents "John Proctor is the Villain," by Kimberly Belflower, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. At a rural high school in Georgia, a group of lively teens are studying “The Crucible” while navigating young love, sex ed and a few school scandals. Holding a contemporary lens to the American classic, they begin to question who is the hero and what is the truth, discovering their own power in the process.
Ailey II – 7: 30 p.m., Oct. 17, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Ailey II marks its 50th anniversary of merging the spirit and energy of the country’s young dance talent with the vision of today’s outstanding choreographers.
Rhapsody Series: "Intimate Dialogues" — 4 p.m., Oct. 20, School of Music Recital Hall, University Park campus. Rachel Copeland (soprano), Tim Deighton (viola) and Ann Deighton (piano) explore a range of emotions through songs pairing voice with obligato string instrument. The program features transcriptions of songs by Massenet and Strauss, and original settings by Loeffler and Brahms.
Le Consort: "From Naples to London" – 7:30 p.m., Oct. 22, School of Music Recital Hall, University Park campus. The young artists of Le Consort will take the audience on a musical tour in “From Naples to London.” The Quebec-based ensemble’s program will include performances of violin trio sonatas by John Eccles, Nicola Matteis, Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Purcell and more.
Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra – 7:30 p.m., Oct. 23, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Penn State will celebrate a legend of jazz fusion and Afro-Cuban sound with a performance by Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra. The founder of the trombone front line style, his unconventional approach to Latin music since the 1950s won Palmieri the first Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording and nine other Grammies.
“Flights of Fancy, and Other Modes of Transportation” — 7:30 p.m., Oct. 23 to 25, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Featuring music by the local band The Pines, singers and dancers will populate a landscape that follows a trajectory of dreams where illusion and reality may meet.
OcTUBA 24: TUBAWEEN — 7:30 p.m., Oct. 24, Recital Hall, University Park campus. Directed by Velvet Brown, the Penn State Tuba Euphonium Ensemble will perform works by composers such as Leonard Bernstein, Jack Day, Yasuhide Ito and Jiaojiao Liang. Come in costume to celebrate TUBAWEEN!
Events
LGBTQ+ History Month — Multiple events at various locations throughout October. October marks a month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history as well as the larger queer rights movement. Penn State’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity is hosting several activities celebrating LGBTQ+ history throughout the month.
Palmer Museum: Creative Self-Care Studio Session — 5:30-7:30 p.m., Oct. 17, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Get creative, connect with others, move your hands, learn about self-care art techniques, and take time to relax and rejuvenate through art-making processes in these drop-in sessions. Sessions will focus on therapeutic art practices for self-care as well as provide a time and place to build community with other creative people. Free.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Kentucky Derby: A Night at the Race — Oct. 17, 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.
Pumpkin Fest 2024 — Oct. 18-19, The Arboretum, University Park campus. The annual fall festival kicks off with expanded hours and new offerings, including a live professional pumpkin-carving demonstration and special quiet hours.
Haunted Valley — Oct. 18, 7-10 p.m., Hintz Family Alumni Center and University House, University Park campus. The Penn State Lion Ambassadors will explore Penn State legends and lore at this annual event, which includes lantern tours around campus. Free. RSVP required.
WPSU Eventapalooza — Oct. 19, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Outreach Building, Innovation Park, State College. This indoor and outdoor family event offers activities for kids ages 3 through 10, including games, make and take crafts, take-home gift bags, photo opportunities with Nature Cat and a touch-a-truck area. Free.
Art Connection: Family Weekend at the Palmer – Oct. 19, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. As part of Penn State’s Family Weekend, the Palmer Museum of Art offers a full day of drop-in programs to introduce the museum’s new building, world-class collections, special exhibitions, and academic resources. A variety of activities will inspire reflection about how art connects us, including tours, in-gallery experiences and creative art activities.
Haunted-U — 5:15 to 8 p.m., Oct. 19, Multiple locations, University Park campus. Haunted-U is a free, fun and educational community science night where kids of all ages and their families can see and experience science with a Halloween twist. There will be Science demonstrations, Halloween activities, and "haunting" lab tours provided by Penn State faculty and students. Free.
Annual Penn State Horticulture Show — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 19-20, Snider Agricultural Arena, University Park campus. Organized by the student-led Horticulture Club in the College of Agricultural Sciences, this year’s show will feature a fall theme and a landscape design created in class by students in the landscape contracting program. Additionally, attendees can purchase seasonal items such as pumpkins, gourds, apples, various plants and cider.
THON 5K — 11:30 a.m., Oct. 20, Outside Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. The annual THON 5K powered by PNC is one of the largest pre-THON Weekend events during the year, spreading awareness of THON and its mission. Pre- and post-race activities include a line dance, kids race and live music.
Shakespeare Festival — Multiple events, Oct. 21-23, Maggie Hardy Magerko Auditorium, Fayette, The Eberly Campus. This event will feature an 80-minute production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" by The Linny Fowler WillPower Tour, followed by a Q&A session with the cast.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Palette and Plate: Gastronomy Meets Gallery — Oct. 23, 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.
U.S. Media Literacy Week Celebration presentations — Multiple events, Oct. 23, University Park campus and online. A series of public presentations, each focused on a different aspect of consuming news and related information, highlight a U.S. Media Literacy Week Celebration. Free.
Plant Powered PSU — 5 to 7:30 p.m., Oct. 24, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, downtown State College. Hosted by the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm at Penn State, the annual, open-house style event will feature plant-based food samples, educational stations and interactive activities. Free.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: French Bistro Classics — Oct. 24, 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.
Lectures
Robert M. Pockrass Memorial Lecture: “Family Media Moments: How Parents and Children Navigate Identity” – 1:30 p.m., Oct. 18, 121 Sparks Building, University Park campus. Marie-Louise Mares, a professor of communication science at the University of Wisconsin, will present a lecture focusing on families navigating shared and unshared identities, with particular attention to her recent work on families with LGBTQ teens. Free.
“How Public Healthcare Can Advance Environmental Sustainability” — 12 p.m., Oct. 18, via Zoom. Thomas Burk, chief executive officer of Danville State Hospital, will discuss ways his institution has refined its operations to reduce environmental impact while enhancing financial sustainability.
Emily Dickinson Lecture featuring poet Ilya Kaminsky — 6 p.m., Oct. 24, Paterno Library's Foster Auditorium, University Park. An award-winning poet and author of “Deaf Republic” and “Dancing In Odessa," Kaminsky will deliver the 24th annual Emily Dickinson Lecture. Free and open to the public.
In-person exhibits
“Lost in Paradise” — Through Oct. 19, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. A new solo exhibition by artist Seth Ellison will feature various paintings reflecting Ellison's life growing up in the rural South. Ellison is a Philadelphia-based painter and multimedia artist.
“Familiar Strands” — Through Oct. 24, McLanahan Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Ivyside Juried Art Exhibition winner Zoraye Cyrus uses vintage photographs as the foundation for drawings that utilize personal experiences, family relationships and her Afro-Caribbean American heritage to delve into the intricate connections between belonging and identity. Free.
“Color Intaglio: Fauna, Flora, Figures” — Through Oct. 25, Sheetz Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. A body of work by Ivyside Juried Art Exhibition winner Yuji Hiratsuka reflecting on everyday human conditions such as wryness, satire, whimsy, irony, paradox or mismatch. Free.
Philadelphia Watercolor Society’s 124th International Exhibition of Works on Paper — Through Oct. 29, The Henry Gallery, Great Valley campus. This exhibition will feature a diverse range of styles and techniques, from delicate landscapes to bold abstracts, to evoke emotion, challenge perception and celebrate the beauty of the medium of paper.
“Made in PA” – Through Dec. 1, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. An ambitious show highlights post-1945 paintings, sculpture, mixed-media assemblages and installations by artists who hail from Pennsylvania or who have made their homes and sustained their careers in the Keystone State.
“Re/Collecting the Andes: Andean Art, Science, and the Sacred at Penn State” — Through Dec. 8, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. “Re/Collecting the Andes” tells the story of more than 10,000 years of agricultural, cultural, intellectual and religious innovation in the Andes region of South America. It also narrates how the Incas and their surviving Andean subjects reclaimed that legacy after Spain's invasion, through museums, science and art.
“Re(de)fining Landscape” — Through Dec. 13, Abington Art Gallery, Abington campus. Bonnie Levinthal’s work is rooted in the exploration and re-presentation of landscape, incorporating methods and mediums that connect process with content to create a visual record of her experiences in response to place. This exhibition showcases three bodies of work alongside artist’s journals, reflecting Levinthal’s response to place through a sampling of artworks completed at home and abroad.
"Caretelling: Stories to Sustain Ourselves" — Through December, Woskob Family Gallery, University Park campus. This interdisciplinary group exhibition explores the intersection of storytelling and caregiving through collaborative art-making, video installations and graphic narratives.
"Patterning with Heat and Water: Knitted Responsive Tension Structures" — Through December, Woskob Family Gallery, University Park campus. The exhibition showcases the responsive textile work of Felecia Davis, associate professor of architecture in the Penn State Stuckeman School’s Department of Architecture, and Delia Dumitrescu, director of the Smart Textiles Lab at the Swedish School of Textiles.
"Unknown Forest" — Through Jan. 27, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The exhibit features paintings and drawings by New York-based artist, Avani Patel, whose cultural background has had a profound impact on forging her identity as an artist. Indian culture is the starting point of her work.
"Myth, History, and the Written Word: Manuscript and Print Culture in Latin America" — Through Feb. 7, 2025, Special Collections exhibition space, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. The rare and distinctive Latin American collections held by the Eberly Family Special Collections Library are the focus of this exhibition, curated by Manuel Ostos, librarian and curator of Romance Language and Latin American Collections. Free.
"Reunion" — Through March 4, HUB Gallery and Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The exhibit by New Mexico-based contemporary artist, Cannupa Hanska Luger, is an immersive, multi-disciplinary exhibition featuring sculpture, regalia, and digital media. The selection of works presented in this iteration makes up a spectrum of possibilities and sheds light on historical truths to tell a narrative of complexity in the act of survival.
“Biomachine” — Through Spring 2025, Hite Lobby, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. A collaboration between Daryl Branford and Talley Fisher of Huck SciArts offers a glimpse into the microscopic world of viruses and is a reaction to how humanity must learn to coexist with them.
"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.