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
"Bach's Lunch" — 12:10 p.m., Sept. 14, Eisenhower Chapel, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, University Park campus. "Bach's Lunch" is a weekly concert series during the school year. Concerts are brief in order to make it possible for the University community to attend during the lunch hour. Free.
Penn & Teller present The Foolers Live — 7:30 p.m., Sept. 15, The Pullo Center, Penn State York. The Foolers brings an evening of jaw-dropping illusions curated by Penn & Teller. Please note: Penn & Teller will not be present at this event.
PA Chamber Orchestra season concert: Northern Lights — 3 p.m., Sept. 17, Recital Hall, University Park campus. Founded in 1991, the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra is a non-profit professional chamber orchestra that brings regular live classical performances to the central Pennsylvania region.
Emmet Cohen Trio featuring Lucy Yeghiazaryan — 7:30 p.m., Sept. 19, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The trio will include Emmet Cohen (piano), Philip Norris (bass) and Joe Farnsworth (drums), and feature New York City-based jazz singer Lucy Yeghiazaryan on vocals.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie: Me vs Myself College Tour — 8 p.m., Sept. 21, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Bronx-bred superstar A Boogie wit da Hoodie takes the stage, with special guests Toosii and Kaliii.
Events
Hispanic Heritage Month — Through Oct. 15, Various campuses. Penn State units at campuses across the commonwealth will be holding events in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 as a time to honor and celebrate the historic background, culture, heritage and many influences of the Hispanic and Latine community throughout the years.
"Paper and Plants: They are connected!" — 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Sept. 14, the Arboretum, University Park campus. Members from Penn State University Libraries’ Conservation Centre will lead hands-on papermaking sessions and teach attendees how to use recycled paper fibers and plant fibers, such as flower petals and garden vegetables, to make new handmade paper. Free.
8th Annual Harvest Fest — 4-7 p.m., Sept. 14, Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm, University Park campus. Campus and community members are invited to the Harvest Fest to spend an evening learning about the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm and celebrating the fall season. The event will feature music, food samples and assorted activities. Free.
AEW Collision — 7:30 p.m., Sept. 16, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Saturday night's alright for fighting, and all of your favorite stars will be in action live at the BJC.
Lee Asher, Founder of The Asher House — 7:30 p.m., Sept. 21, The Pullo Center, Penn State York. Lee Asher is widely recognized for his dedicated efforts in the animal rescue community.
Lectures
"Motivating Change: Intervention Techniques to Increase Physical Activity Among People Living with Disabilities" — 3:05 p.m., Sept. 14, 110 Henderson Building, University Park campus. Kathleen A. Martin Ginis, professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Health and Exercise Sciences, will present the 2023 Dorothy V. Harris Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Department of Kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Development. Free.
Penn State Forum Speaker Series: Jennifer Pharr Davis — 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Sept. 15, Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, University Park campus. Jennifer Pharr Davis, long-distance hiker, author and entrepreneur, will present a lecture titled "Trailblazer: Hard Earned Lessons from the Appalachian Trail and Beyond."
"SHAKTHI: Studying Healthcare Accessibility among Kothi, Transgender and Hijra Individuals" — 3:30 p.m., Sept. 15, 112 Walker Building, University Park campus and Zoom. Shamayeta Bhattacharya, assistant professor of community engagement and leadership at Point Park University, will discuss critical issues related to healthcare access for marginalized communities, with a particular focus on Hijra, Kothi and transgender (HKT) individuals in Kolkata, India, as part of the Department of Geography's fall 2023 Coffee Hour lecture series. Free.
George Lakey — 6 p.m., Slep Student Center, Altoona campus. Author and activist George Lakey will speak as part of an international tour for his new memoir, “Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice.” In his memoir, he recounts coming out as bisexual to his Quaker community, protesting the Vietnam War by delivering medical supplies through the naval blockade in the South China Sea, and applying his academic study of nonviolent resistance to creative tactics in direct action campaigns. Lakey will also offer the small group workshop at noon in the Fireside Lounge.
“JWST: 25 Years to Build, One Year to Change Astronomy” — 7-8:30 p.m., Sept. 19, 100 Huck Life Sciences Building, University Park campus. As part of the Marker Lectures in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Marcia Rieke, Regents’ Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, will discuss the JWST, one of the most ambitious and complicated telescopes ever to be launched into space. She will share how new data collected since the telescope’s launch has already overturned traditional thinking about distant galaxies and other cosmic objects.
“Becoming Post-Natural: Rethinking the Modern Natural Contract” — 4:30 p.m., Sept. 20, Stuckeman Family Building Jury Space, University Park campus and Zoom. The Stuckeman School kicks off its Lecture and Exhibit Series with Mireia Luzárraga, co-founder of the Barcelona-based architecture and design studio TAKK. Luzárraga’s lecture will explore the relationships between architecture, nature and society, as well as question what “natural” means. Free.
"Why Didn't You Tell Me?" — Noon, Sept. 21, Room 135, Penn State Lehigh Valley. Carmen Rita Wong will share stories from her own life and answer questions about her book, "Why Didn't You Tell Me?," as part of campus programming around Hispanic Heritage Month. Free.
Pulitzer Prize-winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey — 6 p.m., Sept. 21, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Pulitzer Prize-winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey will offer a reading as this year's Emily Dickinson Lecturer.
In-person exhibits
"Sad Purple and Mauve: A History of Dye-Making" — Sept. 14 through Jan. 15, Special Collections exhibition space, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. The science, art and history and textile and paper dyes and their uses in books and manuscripts will be the focus of this exhibit. The opening will take place from 4-6 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, and is free and open to the public.
“Anacostia Portraits” — Through Sept. 22, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The HUB-Robeson Galleries presents “Anacostia Portraits,” an exhibition of tintype photographs by Elana Volkova, on view in Art Alley through Sept. 22.
“Interplay” — Through Oct. 5, McLanahan Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Interplay will display artwork from Ivyside Juried Art Exhibition winner Morgan Thomas Shankweiler’s “By-Chance Connection” series, “Tie Formation” series, and her newest exploration of indeterminacy.
“Viet Kitsch: Lacquer Luster” — Through Oct. 5, Sheetz Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Ivyside Juried Art Exhibition winner Millian Pham intertwines her native Vietnamese culture with her adopted American culture through imagery and text.
"Evan Pugh: Student to Scientist" — Through October, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery, Deike Building, University Park campus. The exhibit explores two distinct stages in the life of Evan Pugh, Penn State's first president. Free.
Gall wasps exhibit — Through October, Frost Entomological Museum, University Park campus. This new exhibit is aimed at cultivating awareness about gall wasps and showcasing their beauty and diversity. Free.
"Black Feminist Embodiments of Self-Love and Self-Recovery" — Through Nov. 20. Inspired by a scene in Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," set in Ohio prior to Emancipation, the exhibition displays sources of self-love and self-recovery found in a variety of literature by and about Black women. Free.
“Andrea Doria: Dive to An Era” — Through Nov. 30, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. The Friedman Art Gallery will feature a collection of items recovered on more than 200 dives to the shipwreck of the Andrea Doria. Diver and author Gary Gentile has recovered dishes, cups, glasses, plates, jewelry, ceramic panels created by the internationally known artist Romano Rui and more.
"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 exhibitions include an examination of women’s athletics at Penn State and Title IX, editorial cartoons from The Jerry Doyle Papers, and an exploration of the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic.