Peoples Choice Festival 2027

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Festival has moved back to The Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, PA! Please note that the new address of the festival is 51 Boal Avenue, Boalsburg, PA 16827.
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The People's Choice Festival is a 4 day arts and crafts festival founded in 1993 and located in Boalsburg, PA. This show was created by PA artists for PA artists. We also welcome guest artists from states bordering Pennsylvania.

This event includes ~150 artisan booths, food court vendors, specialty food vendors, wineries, children's activities, community groups, free music and live entertainment. The festival is known for its friendly atmosphere, community engagement, and variety of goods.

July 8th to 11th
Thursday to Saturday 10am-7pm
Sunday 11am-4pm

Event held rain or shine. 
 

LOCATION

Pennsylvania Military Museum
51 Boal Avenue, Boalsburg, PA 16827

Application Deadline is January 31st, 2027
Late Applications Accepted until April 30th, 2027

Residency Requirement

The People's Choice Festival was established to celebrate Pennsylvania artists. Pennsylvania residents are encouraed to apply. Beginning in 2026 we invite guest artists from neighboring states New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio to apply to join us as well. In jurying, preference within each category will still go to PA artists.

Accepted Mediums

Categories of work accepted include Action (such as onsite portraiture and broommaking), Baskets, Clay, Fiber, Glass, Jewelry, Leather, Metal, Other, Photography, Polymer Clay, Wood, and 2D (painting, printmaking, etc.) 

Each artist booth is expected to contain arts or crafts in only a single (1) medium. Small amounts of a secondary medium are allowed if it is clearly complimentary to the primary medium, has been juried-in (e.g. through provided photographs), and represents less than ~10% of total product; we reserve the right to exclude any secondary medium content as a condition of invitation to the show.

Amenities

• Full set up day in advance of the festival
• Frequently cleaned restrooms and onsite facilities

1. Overnight security

• Free parking located near booth space (typically within ~200 feet of booth)
• Nearby RV camping available for an additional fee (Camping will be provided with electric and water by the Boalsburg Fire Company, contact Randy Weaver at 814-883-8199)
• Booth sitters
• Courtesy shuttle around the festival grounds during event hours

Please read our rules carefully. Our show enforces booth and display requirements to create an attractive space. 

Artisans must use a clean and well maintained commercial grade tent that is 10 feet wide, with a white top and sides and square profile, equivalent to a professional-grade EZ-UP.  We do not permit dining-type canopies or tarp-covered frames. Tents must be securely fastened. We require using heavy weights, stakes, or tie-downs! Wind and rain are common occurrences in PA summer. You may not display items outside the footprint of your booth. 

Artisans may not simultaneously exhibit their work within 25 miles of the festival. This includes the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College, PA and Art in The Orchard in Stormstown, PA. 

Artisans must stay all four days of the festival regardless of weather or inventory status. Your booth must be open for the full open hours of the show each day. You may not close your tent or bring your car up to your booth until the festival has officially closed at 7pm on Th-Sat or 4pm Sunday. Exceptions will be made in the case of genuine emergencies (where life or property are at risk). Cars may be brought into the main show grounds in the mornings, but cars must be out 30 minutes before the show opens (9:30am on Th-Sat and 10:30am on Sunday). You are encouraged to have your booth ready 30 minutes before show start.

One car or stock trailer may be parked behind your booth. Other cars must be in the guest parking lot. Please use your parking pass by displaying it prominently.

Required Liability Insurance

The People’s Choice Festival MUST collect the Certificate of Liability for each vendor in with coverage of $1,000,000.  The Certificate Holder or Additional Insured section must list the following:
●     The People’s Choice Festival, P.O. Box 407, Pine Grove Mills, PA  16868.

Email form to peopleschoicefestival@gmail.com 


Waitlist

A standby list is created and if someone cancels we attempt to fill the spot with the closest type of medium available.

Check-In

The artist listed on the application is required to be the same person who checks in on the Wednesday prior to the show. Check-in is between 9:00 am and 6:30 pm on Wednesday July 8.  If a business has two artists / owners, both must be listed on the application. We will ask for an ID at check-in to confirm identity and residency.

Check-in is at 51 Boal Avenue, Boalsburg, PA, 16827. Look for the red information tent. At check-in, you will recieve a folder of documentation and instructions for being escorted to your booth. After being escorted to your booth, you will also recieve both oral and written instructions for tent set up. Please follow these instructions and ask for clarification as needed. Correct placement of tents is extremely important to the layout of this show. 

We reserve the right to replace accepted Artisans who do not check-in by 6:30pm on Wednesday with standby Artisans. Contact us as soon as possible in advance if a weather or other type of emergency exception is needed. 

Booth Fees 

$35 for Processing (Application & Jury) Fee (required of all applicants)       
$475 for Single Booth (CORNER NOT AVAILABLE) 10’ x 10’ 
$650 for Booth/Half 10’ frontage x 15’ depth  
$750 for  Double Booth  10’ frontage x 20’ depth 
$950 Double Wide Booth 20' frontage x 10' depth (CORNER NOT AVAILABLE)
$1,500 Double Double Booth 20' frontage x 20' depth
$60 for Corner Space (additional fee, refunded if corner space is not available, NOT AVAILABLE FOR SINGLE 10X10 or DOUBLE WIDE 20'X10' SPACE)                              
$35  Late Application (after January 15th)  

A limited number of “corner” spaces are available (booth with front and one side open). Corner spaces are not available for single 10x10 ("single") or 20x10 ("double wide") booths; only 10x15 ("booth-and-a-half"), 10x20 ("double") and 20x20 ("double double") booths can also be corners.  Select "corner" if you are requesting a corner, and we will refund this payment in the event we cannot accommodate a corner request.  10x20,10x15, 20x20 booth spaces are available whether or not they are also a corner. Please note you may not vend from the "side" (non-midway) of your booth without purchasing and being assigned a corner position.
"Double wide" booths are a new option, and may be limited in number.
Booth fees are due upon acceptance to the show.

Display Rules

Artisans must produce and display their own work, produced by them, by hand, primarily in Pennsylvania or a neighboring state. Artisans may exhibit work only in one medium per booth, in the medium listed in the application and represented in product photos submitted with the application. Small quantities of other items that compliment the main medium and are juried-in may be displayed. Artisans must have all displayed items priced and available for sale to customers.

The listed Artisan(s) must be present at the show all four days.  Artisans may not appoint others to operate their booth during the festival, even if the person is a family member. By "artisan" here we mean the person who was primarily responsible for the hand-production of the art or crafts being offered for sale.

Artisans may not exhibit commercially produced merchandise, kits, items assembled from commercially available parts or plans, or merchandise cast from commercial molds.  In addition, Artisans may not sell the following items at the festival:  loose bunches of dried flowers, potpourri, or any item resembling a weapon.

The festival representatives may reject non-complying items from an Artisan’s booth.

The festival does not have electrical hookups or water available for Artisans.  In addition, the festival does not permit the use of generators by Artisans.

For public safety and consideration of your neighbors all signs, tables, chairs, racks, merchandise, umbrellas, and any other objects must be within footprint of your assigned booth space.  The festival does not permit freestanding, staked or sandwich board signage on the festival grounds. You may not display items or put anything in front of or outside of your booth space. Items for sale may not be displayed on the sides or back of your tent (except for the sales side of a corner booth). Items may not be hung from tent overhangs. 

All booths must have a backdrop. There should not be a clear line of site from the midway to the area behind your booth. Please keep your sales area and stock in a neat and orderly fashion. All artists are permitted to set up a 10x10 shade tent immediately behind their booth, space permitting, as long as it looks tidy and is properly secured to the ground. In some rare cases there may not be room for a tent of that size. You can store stock in the shade tent, but it is not additional sales space.

Please display your booth name and number sign clearly. 

Each Artisan will leave their site in the same condition as when they first arrived.  Place all trash in provided receptacles before leaving the grounds.

Artisans may not have pets on the festival grounds.

Open flames are not permitted on the grounds. 

We will notify you by February 15th, 2027 if you are invited to participate in the show. You must accept this invitation and make payment by March 15th to confirm your spot. No refunds are given after payment for any reason.