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Festival marks 50th anniversary

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski James Oakes, 6, of Gallitzin and sister Olivia Roberts, 10, of Altoona make music at the Altoona Symphony Orchestra tent in the Children’s Village at the 50th annual Blair County Arts Festival on the Penn State Altoona campus on Saturday afternoon. The festival continues today from noon until 6 p.m.

Despite cold temperatures and a gray, overcast sky, warm colors and creativity flourished Saturday on the Penn State Altoona campus, where art enthusiasts gathered for the 50th annual Blair County Arts Festival.

Each year, about 10,000 people attend the two-day arts festival, which has endured 50 years, said Karen Volpe, festival coordinator with the Blair County Arts Foundation.

“I think we kept the traditions that people look forward to,” Volpe said.

By Saturday afternoon, Volpe said attendance was on track to meet expectations, as crowds of people gathered to peruse about 90 vendor booths.

Among those vendors was Dion D. Dillon and CJ Ray of Djday’s Stained Glass. The Tyrone artists displayed handmade sun catchers made from colorful glass.

The duo has attended the festival for numerous years, hoping to increase local interest in their craft, Dillon said.

“It’s a good way to advertise locally,” he said, explaining sun catcher sales sometimes encourage larger commissioned art pieces.

Tina Poole of Brookville — a town more than an hour and a half away — sat inside a booth lined with dolls made from silk flowers and beads.

“This is the first I’ve been here,” she said, guessing Saturday’s cool, dreary weather may have kept some attendees from her booth.

Poole’s creations are sold under her Little Dreams Crafts and Furniture brand. She said she constructs each of the dolls herself, even using leather to craft hats and shoes.

“Each and every one of them is unique,” she said. “I never make the same one twice.”

Bad weather didn’t deter couple Matt and Toni Applas of Altoona. Toni said Saturday was her first time visiting the event, and within moments of her arrival she’d purchased some goods — customized koozies.

Matt said he and his wife planned to browse all of the festival’s offerings.

“There is all kinds of stuff here,” he said.

Among those offerings is an art exhibit inside the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. There, Katie Treese of Fallentimber scanned a room full of photographs, which showed wooded landscapes, industrial scenes and portraits, among other things.

“We come to look at the art,” Treese said, revealing she has attended the event for about 20 years. “We look at everything when we are here.”

Many people attend the event to look at the art, which is also for sale, Volpe said.

“I have people who come just to add to their art collections,” she said.

This year, organizers also added a scavenger hunt, which encourages attendees to visit numerous vendors and attractions, and those who complete the hunt will be entered to win a prize package valued at $500, Volpe said.

All proceeds from the festival are used to maintain and operate the Mishler Theatre.

There are also events for children, including an “instrument petting zoo,” where children have a chance to play different instruments, Volpe said.

Matt Runciman’s instruments garnered him some attention Saturday afternoon, when a crowd gathered to listen to his band The Coteries, a folk-rock trio from Fort Collins, Colo.

“Pennsylvania is always really nice to us,” said Runciman, the band’s guitarist. “We try to play as many events like this as possible.”

The event continues today from noon to 6 p.m. A full schedule can be viewed at http://blaircountyartsfestival

.org/schedule/.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.

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