By Sue Poremba
Let’s face it; Thursday isn’t the most exciting day of the week. The highlight is that Thursday is at least on the down slope toward Friday.
However, downtown State College has joined with other communities from around the country to add some excitement to at least one Thursday each month.
First Thursday is an opportunity for people to come downtown and explore the cultural side of Happy Valley. In fact, the tag line for First Thursday is “A Celebration of the Arts” – founding members include the local theaters, local art galleries, the Nittany Valley Symphony and other arts-related organizations.
Thursday has traditionally been the night of the week geared to attract people to downtown. Many stores stay open late on Thursday nights, and metered parking is free. So it isn’t a surprise that the downtown community has embraced First Thursday, with a number of businesses holding special events in conjunction with the music and arts presentations. For example, in November,
Webster’s Bookstore Café hosted best-selling local author Tawni O’Dell to speak,
Jezebel’s Boutique had a Ladies’ Night (I went to one of those once – a fun time!) and
Growing Tree Toys invited children to make their own foam turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Participating venues will be marked with a poster and, unless otherwise noted, events are free.